South Australia closes border with Greater Melbourne

One state has closed its border with Melbourne and issued a series of rules for all arrivals, throwing its festival season into disarray.

South Australia closed its border with greater Melbourne at midnight in what has been described as a “snap decision” that has left Adelaide’s festival season in disarray.

Under the changes, travellers who have been in Greater Melbourne on or after 4 February will no longer be allowed to enter SA unless they are a returning resident, are genuinely relocating, are essential travellers or are escaping domestic violence with approval prior to entry. COVID-19 testing and self-quarantine may apply to these people.

People who have been at the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport on or after 12.01am 27 January or are a close contact of a person who has must contact SA Health immediately and quarantine at an authorised location for 14 days, receiving COVID-19 tests on days 1, 5 and 12.

Anyone who was in South Australia before 12.01am on Thursday having visited Greater Melbourne must have immediately taken a COVID-19 test and self-quarantined until they received a negative test result, and must get tested again on day 5 and day 12.

If they were at a Victorian Government “Public Exposure Site” they must continue their 14-day quarantine and testing regime with COVID-19 tests on days 1, 5 and 12.

COVID-19 Directions have been updated in South Australia. For information please visit: https://t.co/X1xwyoBaj6 pic.twitter.com/PWCoH1i8k6

— South Australia Police (@SAPoliceNews) February 10, 2021

Travellers from the rest of Victoria will be accepted into the state and do not have any testing or quarantine requirements.

People are permitted to transit through Melbourne Airport providing they have been in a Low Community Transmission Zone (ACT, non-prohibited locations in WA, non-restricted locations in NSW, parts of Victoria other than Greater Melbourne, NT, Queensland and Tasmania) for 14 days, have only been in the airport for two hours or less and have worn a mask for the whole journey.

People can only travel into South Australia from Victoria on particular roads.

People who have been in Greater Melbourne are also not permitted to enter an SA aged care facility without prior approval from SA Health.

Once someone has completed 14 days of quarantine they are free to move around South Australia and enter a Residential Aged Care Facility.

Other existing requirements remain and all COVID-19 directions for SA can be found here.

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Travellers from Greater Melbourne are not permitted to enter SA under new border restrictions. Picture: Emma Brasier

The border rules come after two more cases of COVID-19 have been linked to the Holiday Inn quarantine hotel at Melbourne Airport, with eight cases now linked to the cluster.

The new positive cases were recorded in a worker and a previous resident who left the facility on Sunday.

SA recorded two new infections but they are returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

Police commissioner Grant Stevens said the decision on closing the border was a difficult one for authorities, given the state is on the eve of Adelaide Fringe, deemed the world’s second-largest annual arts festival.

“We know that this is a delicate position for people who may be in Victoria wishing to travel to South Australia or South Australians who may be wishing to return,” he said.

“It is a decision for individuals to make.”

Mr Stevens said authorities were closely monitoring the situation. Officials will review the new border rules daily.

“Our steps in South Australia are taken with an abundance of caution to make sure that we are minimising the risk.”

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SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said she was ‘very concerned’ about the situation in greater Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Mariuz

Mr Stevens — who is also the state co-ordinator — said the midnight deadline was to ensure travellers intending to return home or come to the state had time to do so in case the border changes were finalised.

Those who entered before midnight are still required to be tested on days one, five and 12.

Travellers from regional Victoria will still be permitted to enter SA.

SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said it was likely new Victorian cases were the UK variant but genomic testing results had not yet returned with confirmation.

She said there were different pieces of information — which included the number of contacts and testing rates — her team needed to receive before deciding.

“We would like to flag our intention at this point that it is likely that we will have some border restrictions in place,” Professor Spurrier said.

“I am being extra cautious and there’s some reasons behind that, one being that this particular variant of concern is more transmissible.

“I am very concerned. We’ve had a number of cases associated with the hotel (and) we know what happened when we had the Parafield Cluster here in SA.”