South Australia to lift ACT, NSW travel ban within days

South Australia is poised to open itself up to visitors from the ACT and possibly NSW within days.

‘I want to open up the border because I think it’s really important not just from a business perspective but a family dislocation perspective’: South Australian Premier Steven Marshall. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

While other states continue to maintain hard border closures South Australia is poised to open itself up to visitors from the ACT and possibly NSW within days.

But SA will take a “cautious, staged and gradual” approach to letting Victorian residents in, with Premier Steven Marshall giving no guarantees the border with Victoria would be open by Christmas.

Mr Marshall said he had been buoyed by the sustained absence of infections in the ACT and heartened that the emerging cases in NSW were being contained and followed up through contact tracing.

While he had previously indicated he wanted to wait a further fortnight before looking at opening up to visitors from NSW and the ACT, he said on Friday that the current numbers there meant a decision could be made sooner.

The Weekend Australian ­understands police and the state’s Chief Medical Officer’s team are increasingly relaxed about the idea of Canberrans going to SA, given there have been no cases for weeks.

SA’s COVID Transition Committee met on Friday to examine the latest data from NSW and the ACT and will meet again on Tuesday, but Mr Marshall said an announcement could be made before then.

“We are continuing to look at that,” he said. “They are gathering more detail. I am very hopeful that we can open up soon to the ACT and NSW.

“I want to open up the border because I think it’s really important not just from a business perspective but a family dislocation perspective. The sooner we can do it the better, but we will not be doing it until it is safe to do so.

“But the second that we can lift the border then that’s exactly what we will do.”

Mr Marshall did not make any criticism of other premiers over their border closures but noted the stories of family suffering that had occurred, saying SA police and SA Health had modified their tough stance on Victorian border communities on account of low infection rates in western Victoria. He also said SA was giving exemptions where possible on compassionate grounds and emergency business grounds to people across the country in cases of genuine need. He flagged that if Victoria continued to improve the next step would be to allow Victorians in, provided they self-isolated for 14 days, but that could be a way off.