South Australia’s Home Quarantine SA app to be expanded to cope with 250 travellers each week

About 250 travellers from overseas and interstate might be able to dodge a medi-hotel stint as authorities scramble to clear the huge exemption backlog.

The Home Quarantine SA app will be expanded to cope with 250 travellers each week from October, in an effort to ease pressure on the medi-hotel system and help clear the backlog of people wishing to return to the state.

Those accepted into the program each week will be a mix international and domestic travellers, after a trial involving domestic returnees was launched last month.

Health Minister Stephen Wade said on Friday that a “very cautious, low risk approach” had been taken in expanding the program.

“We go out to the (international) traveller rather than them applying,” he said.

“It’s easing the pressure on our medi-hotels but most importantly improving the quarantine conditions for people who are coming back from interstate or from overseas.”

Explaining the program, deputy chief public health officer Dr Emily Kirkpatrick said participants were prompted to check-in three to five times each day, using facial recognition technology to confirm their identity.

Those who do not check-in and take their picture within a 15-minute window would be contacted by SA Health’s compliance team, and additional check-ins could be required in cases where there were compliance concerns.

The app also geolocates them to ensure they are at their quarantine residence and asks them to complete symptom checks to monitor for signs of Covid.

Dr Emily Kirkpatrick said participants in the program were checking in using facial recognition technology. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

International participants in the program will be escorted home by police from the airport upon arrival in SA.

Following their Covid test at the airport, they will be required to undergo testing on days three, five, seven, nine and 13 of their quarantine period. For domestic travellers, testing is required on days one, five and 13.

Earlier this week, the government revealed about 90 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel returning from overseas would be involved in the app’s international trial, after a successful test involving domestic travellers launched in late August.

There have so far been 98 participants in the trials, with 30 having successfully ended their quarantine period and 64 still completing the program. Of those, 28 are ADF personnel, who arrived from overseas this week.

Two trial participants were not able to complete the program due to phone/network issues and another two withdrew because of the high number of compliance checks.

Meanwhile, data shows more than 95 per cent of the aged care workforce in South Australia had received their first Covid-19 jab by today’s September 17 deadline.

Figures released earlier in the week showed 95.2 per cent – about 25,000 – aged care workers had received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 77.5 per cent of the workforce is fully vaccinated.

Mr Wade said the result was “encouraging”, and revealed less than 10 applications for exemptions had been received.

“We’ll be working through with those particular cases,” he said today.

“We’re very determined to make this a success. An important part of moving out of the Covid situation is to make sure that we shield our most vulnerable communities, residential aged care residents have always been our most vulnerable communities.”

Mr Wade said there was “a handful of people” that the department was working with to ensure they receive the vaccination.

“There may well be further exemption applications,” he said.

“Each one will be considered on its merits, but we’re very pleased with the part of the rollout.”

Those workers who are not vaccinated will not be allowed to enter residential aged care facilities, however those providing homecare services are not bound by the mandate.

Aged care workers had early access to vaccines under phase 1A of the rollout, which began in February, before the mandatory vaccination deadline was agreed upon by National Cabinet in June.

AnglicareSA executive general manager of aged care services Graydn Spinks said the first-dose vaccination rate in the organisation’s residential aged care facilities is more than 99 per cent, and more than 75 per cent are fully vaccinated.

“We have ended up very close to 100 per cent of staff having received their first dose of vaccination by today’s deadline, and therefore it has had minimal impact on our workforce planning,” he said.

“We are very grateful to our employees for their efforts in getting vaccinated by the deadline to keep themselves, their loved ones and those in our care safe and better protected from Covid.”

Originally published as South Australia’s Home Quarantine SA app to be expanded to cope with 250 travellers each week