NSW, Victoria border restrictions between communities will be relaxed

The border between South Australia and NSW may reopen within weeks, as the daily cases of COVID-19 continue to drop.

South Australia will ease some border restrictions with Victoria, extending the buffer zone with cross border communities to 40km. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

With Victoria’s daily COVID-19 case numbers dropping, South Australia’s Premier Steven Marshall has announced his government will relax certain restrictions for residents living along the border.

A new 40-kilometre buffer zone will come back into effect from midnight on Friday morning,

and will allow people free to travel to and from school or work within a 40km radius of the border.

In addition, Mr Marshall said he will consider reopening his state to NSW and the ACT by mid-September if cases remain low.

It would mean that the requirement for travellers to isolate for two weeks upon entering the state would be removed.

Residents from NSW and the ACT may be able to enter SA within two weeks. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Mr Marshall, who made the announcement at Tuesday’s Transition Committee meeting, added that people who travel from states such as Queensland or Tasmania who transit in airports in NSW or the ACT no longer have to self-isolate for 14 days.

The Premier’s original plan of reopening his state to NSW and the ACT on July 20 was scrapped after three clusters emerged in NSW.

South Australia’s Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the changes to the border buffer zone with Victoria is a safe move and will be welcomed by the communities.

“I have detailed information on testing rates in all of the local council areas,” Prof. Spurrier said.

“Glenelg Shire has a particularly good testing rate.

“I’m very confident that it will be safe to go back to having the 40km buffer zone.”

South Australia have announced a new border ‘buffer zone’ with Victoria to assist border communities. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

Earlier today, NSW Premier John Barilaro also announced that his state will be looking to extend the border zone from 2.5km to 50km “to give more freedom to those on both sides of the border to work and function as a community”.

“Further changes we are working towards include allowing the agriculture workforce to travel across the border, initially within a 100km radius, and creating quarantine areas closer to the border,” he said.

“(It will) give more freedom for communities on both sides of the border to work, play and actually function as a community and in itself that is a significant change to what the current restriction is.”

During his visit to Albury, Mr Barilaro said he would look at setting up quarantine hubs along the border in NSW for agricultural workers.