South Australia reopens border with nearly 30k applications to enter already

Another Aussie state’s border reopened with almost 30,000 Australians applying to enter already. Here are all the rules.

South Australia’s border reopened overnight with almost 30,000 Australians applying to enter the state already.

SA Premier Steven Marshall said the state will open its border to all jurisdictions at 12.01am on Tuesday, November 23.

Nearly 30,000 people have so far been approved to return from NSW, Victoria and the ACT after months of being locked out.

Premier Steven Marshall in Adelaide. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

All interstate travellers must be fully vaccinated and apply through the government’s EntryCheckSA. Unvaccinated people planning to travel to the state must apply for an exemption to travel.

Vaccination requirements apply to all people more than 12 years and 2 months of age.

The government’s website had crashed under the stress of high volumes of traffic but was up and running again by Monday evening.

Conditions of entry vary depending on your deemed risk level but range from no entry conditions other than vacccination, a Covid-19 test taken in 72 hours prior to arrival and quarantine requirements for “high risk” international visitors or domestic arrivals.

Chief Public Health Officer for SA Health, Professor Nicola Spurrier. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

South Australia reported no new cases of Covid-19 on Monday. 87.2 per cent of the population aged 16 and above are first dose vaccinated while 77.4 per cent are second dose vaccinated.

Passengers arriving at Adelaide Airport and going through the Covid test. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Brenton Edwards

Last week, Mr Marshall said SA wasn’t “opening the floodgates” to everyone and was only allowing those who were fully vaccinated and had returned a negative test result at least 72 hours before arriving.

“We are expecting a very significant increase in the amount of testing which we envisage will need to be done in SA.

“We are good to go. We’ve made all the necessary precautions, now we need to have Australians continue to get vaccinated as we head towards the end of year.”

New process for entry to SA as of November 23. For full information, visit: https://t.co/LakweUOKSepic.twitter.com/YKNXSFzctR

— South Australia Police (@SAPoliceNews) November 22, 2021

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, who is also the state co-ordinator, said vaccination was the most important thing to help keep businesses open and reduce the impact on the state’s health system.

“In the first instance — between the 80 and 90 per cent (vaccination rates) — we have to have a different level of response than what we would after 90 per cent,” he said

“We’re stepping our way through the introduction of Covid-19 into our community. We don’t know how it’s going to go.

“We need to make sure that people who need medical assistance have access to that medical support and we need to know we’re controlling the spread of Covid-19.”

Sorted. Vax certificate loaded on mySA Gov (QR code) app. First update app. Then go to immunisation history on Medicare Express, select share with check-in app, select mySAGov. Good luck! pic.twitter.com/d4oFcKwcWg

— Matthew Abraham (@KevCorduroy) November 22, 2021

Originally published as South Australia reopens border with nearly 30k applications to enter already