Medical experts say Covid-safe measures are here to stay long after Tassie is fully vaccinated
Several locations in Queensland and South Australia have been declared high risk, after new locally acquired Covid-19 cases were recorded in both states on Saturday.
Tasmania
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Several locations in Queensland and South Australia have been declared high risk, after new locally acquired Covid-19 cases were recorded in both states on Saturday.
Five new cases were detected in Queensland from the same family, across two households, possibly linked to a visitor from New South Wales.
South Australia reported one new local case involving a mine worker who flew in from Sydney on Friday.
Authorities said the man was immediately quarantined at the Adelaide Airport hotel, but other passengers on the flight and people who were in the terminal are being contacted.
Tasmanians who have spent time at high-risk premises at listed times are urged to self-isolate and contact the Public Health Hotline.
Travellers in Tasmania who were in Queensland on or after September 6 or South Australia on or after September 10 are urged to check the list of high-risk premises.
Anyone who has spent time at high-risk premises during the listed dates and times will not be allowed to travel to Tasmania, including residents.
The risk to the Tasmanian community is considered to be low.
What life will look like after Tassie vaccine rates hit 80 per cent
TASMANIANS should not expect to just snap back to pre-Covid living even after the state has achieved 70-80 per cent vaccination targets in the adult population, medical experts say.
The state is racing towards that target amid a vaccine blitz, with 54 per cent of eligible Tasmanians having received at least one dose and more than one-third fully vaccinated.
That is well ahead of the national averages of 49.5 per cent for a first dose and 27.5 per cent fully vaccinated, as the country works towards ending lockdown restrictions when 80 per cent rates are reached.
Australian Medical Association Tasmania spokeswoman Annette Barratt said attention would then have to turn to taking measures to protect the remaining unvaccinated population.
She said social distancing, checking in to venues, mask wearing during future outbreaks, and a continued focus on testing would likely be part of life for a significant period of time.
“Unfortunately things will remain much the same as they are,’’ Dr Barratt said.
“People will still have to be aware that this virus isn’t going anywhere soon.
“But the good news is, the more people that are vaccinated, the less are going to die.
“We do know that the vaccine doesn’t stop the disease spreading.”
Dr Barratt said it was critical Tasmanians were not complacent even after they were fully vaccinated, and continue to present for testing if they had any symptoms.
“I’ve had people argue with me about the need to have a test because ‘I haven’t been out of Tasmania, I can’t be at risk’ but yes, you’ve been to the supermarket, and you don’t know that the person who walked past didn’t have Delta,’’ she said.
“So everyone must get tested at the first sign of any respiratory illness.”
Dr Barratt said there would be a small percentage of people who for medical reasons could not be vaccinated, but believed this would be in the range of 4-5 per cent.
This meant there was a need to try and sway those who were hesitant to be vaccinated, to push rates up towards 95 per cent.
A six-week vaccination blitz is seeing high levels of jabs delivered, with 1767 vaccinations delivered in state clinics on Monday, 2126 on Tuesday and 2835 on Wednesday.
A state government spokeswoman said it was difficult to say what restrictions would remain even when Tasmania reached 80 per cent fully vaccination rates.
“As we have seen recently, particularly in New South Wales, it is not possible to predict with any certainty what will happen in a few months’ time,’’ the spokeswoman said.
“Tasmania continues to lead the nation in terms of the vaccination rollout and we remain confident of reaching our vaccination targets but the work to combat the virus will not stop there.
“Even when we reach our initial vaccination targets, we will be continuing to encourage as many Tasmanians as possible to get vaccinated.
“Tasmania has an older and more vulnerable population than other states so the more Tasmanians get vaccinated the better protected we are as a community.”
Tasmanians call for ‘no jab no entry’ border rule
The state government has not ruled out a tourism industry proposal for it to mandate that all visitors to Tasmania be vaccinated or denied entry.
On Thursday, individual tourism operators threw their support behind the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania’s call to only allow vaccinated visitors into the island state.
Small Business Minister Sarah Courtney said the government was keeping its border options open as it took part in the working group which will inform national cabinet’s decision on what level of vaccination saturation will be needed to allow freer travel between states.
“It is clear Covid-19 has been an extremely challenging time for tourism operators and I recognise their innovation and resilience. In regard to this particular proposal I cannot rule anything in or out,” she said.
Jump Tours owner Greg Price, who gave the keynote address at TICT’s annual conference in Launceston, said safe destinations such as Tasmania would be tourism gold when borders reopened.
Owner of Seaview Inn at Stanley Clint Walker said the localised vaccination idea had “absolute merit” and Tasmanians had every right to be very protective of this State’s Covid-19 status.
“We dodged a bullet in terms of a new infection last week (the arrival of an infected passenger from NSW into Launceston Airport) and it seems logical that those from outside be vaccinated before they come and enjoy what we have to offer," Mr Walker said.
“If we do not keep the virus out we will moat be able tap into that unprecedented pent up demand for Tasmanian holidays. We need regulation and policy to govern that.”
In the background, millions of dollars are being spent upgrading Tasmania’s offering from upgrades to UTAS Stadium in Launceston in line with the push for the State to have its own AFL team, a $30m upgrade of NRMA’s properties in Strahan, Freycinet and Cradle Mountain and building works at the Port of Geelong ready for the Spirit of Tasmania ferries move out of Port Melbourne.
At its board meeting on Wednesday, Tourism Industry Council Tasmania voted to put the proposal to the government as a way of getting tourists flowing again without exposing Tasmania to risk.
“This would make us one of the first destinations in the world to have this system in place, but also show now that we as an industry want to strike a balance between certainty and ensuring Tasmanians are protected as much as they an be in the new Covid norm.,” chairman Daniel Leeson said.
“It’s a responsible position for us to take as an industry and it’s essential if we are to find a way out of our current circumstance.”
He said the tourism industry was in a more uncertain position now than it was 18 when the pandemic first hit and borders first closed.
“The Voucher programs and the grants announced last week are timely and appropriate but they are short term measures,” Mr Leeson said.
“We simply cannot go on for long like this without it leading to severe consequences for many of us and the broader Tasmanian economy.”
The national cabinet has set a clear target to end lockdown restrictions when we hit 80 per cent vaccination rates.
“As an industry we must expect this to mean an end to border restrictions as we know them now, irrespective of the state of Covid in larger states,” he said.
“When we hit those targets in October or November we simply must find a more sustainable way to manage the Covid-19 risk to Tasmania without hard borders in place with other states.”
Tasmania makes call on New Zealand border
TASMANIA has locked its border to the entirety of New Zealand, following further cases of Covid-19 in that country.
The declaration means anyone who had been in New Zealand in the 14 days before their planned arrival in Tasmania was banned from entering unless deemed an essential traveller.
Any travellers now in Tasmania who had been in NZ on or since August 4, were required to isolate and urgently arrange a Covid-19 test.
Public Health director Dr Mark Veitch said the decision to make NZ a high-risk level 2 destination applied from 3pm on Wednesday, but the ruling is likely to have little effect given the travel between Australia and NZ was paused last month.
It comes after the whole of NZ went into a snap lockdown on Tuesday following the detection of a Covid-19 case in the community.
The only way people can enter Tasmania from NZ is if they are deemed essential travellers, including returning Tasmanian residents.
If approved, travellers would be required to quarantine at a suitable premises, which may be their home.
Dr Veitch said anyone recently in NZ should check the list of high-risk premises on the coronavirus.tas.gov.au website every day for 14 days after leaving the country.
“Everyone who has recently been in New Zealand should look out for cold or flu-like symptoms,’’ he said.
“If you develop any symptoms — even mild — isolate immediately and arrange a Covid-19 test by calling the hotline.”
Last month, NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suspended the travel bubble with Australia for at least eight weeks, following the virus outbreak in Sydney.
That decision meant travellers from Tasmania could not go to NZ without quarantining.
But Tasmania, which has been mostly coronavirus-free during 2021, had deemed NZ a low-risk destination until Wednesday’s decision.
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