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South Australians flying to Melbourne will be screened, tested and, if necessary, quarantined. However, the border remains open for the time being following the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Adelaide.
Victoria has now spent 18 consecutive days without recording a new case or death of coronavirus. More than 17,400 Victorians were tested for the virus on Monday, and three active cases remain.
SA Prime Minister Steven Marshall announced on Tuesday that there was only one new positive case in his state overnight.
It was a close contact of an original cluster that expanded within a large family after coming out of a Medi-Hotel.
This increases the number of confirmed and suspicious cases to 20.
“The good news is that overnight there was only one new infection overnight,” Marshall said.
Mr Marshall said it was a fearful time for South Australia but the initial results were encouraging.
Victorian borders were not closed during the pandemic, but Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said he would not rule out such a move if necessary.
Victoria, along with other states and territories, declared South Australia a “hot spot” for the coronavirus on Monday.
Tasmania and the Northern Territory closed their borders with South Australia as people rushed to the airport before further closings were possible.
Allen Cheng, Victoria’s deputy chief health officer, said anyone flying from Adelaide to Melbourne would have their temperature and symptoms checked upon arrival.
Names and contact details would also be adopted, but there are still no quarantine requirements.
“If they refuse to be tested, they will be treated as close contact and asked to self-isolate for 14 days,” said Prof. Cheng.
New restrictions have been put in place in South Australia to stop the outbreak. The number of people attending funerals and weddings would be limited and restrictions would apply in licensed venues, cafes, gyms and entertainment venues.
Elderly carers must wear masks when people cannot physically distance indoor and outdoor sports and training has been canceled.
The Ghan, which left Adelaide on Sunday with 221 passengers, was turned back near Alice Springs.
Mr Andrews said he was confident that SA’s new contact tracing system would keep the situation under control and offered all assistance to South Australian counterpart Steven Marshall.
South Australians can still travel to Victoria.
When asked if a hard border closure was off the table, Andrews said, “I would never take anything completely off the table.”
“My goal, which is our goal in the National Cabinet, is to have all internal borders in our country open by the end of this year,” he said. “We never closed our border. I have never criticized others for closing theirs. You did what I would have done if the circumstances had been different. “
Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien said Mr Andrews had his full support.
“I think the interview process is good, rather than immediately closing the border, so I support the Prime Minister’s actions in this regard,” said O’Brien.
“However, it shows the importance of making sure contact tracing is up to date.
“We know we’re going to have outbreaks, whether Victoria or any other state, this virus won’t go away until we get a vaccine.”
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