The State Coordinator and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens today (18 December 2020) announced people who have travelled to South Australia from particular areas in New South Wales are required to immediately self-quarantine for 14 days and seek COVID-19 testing.
In response to the recent New South Wales outbreak, three COVID-19 Directions in South Australia have been updated. The updated Directions are; Cross Border Travel No 23, Residential Aged Care No 18 and Supervised Quarantine No 2.
Cross Border Travel Direction No 23
The Cross Border No 23 Direction came into effect as of 7.56pm Friday 18 December 2020.
The changes are as follow:
- A Prohibited Location has been added to the Direction, this is a place in New South Wales that is designated by SA Health on the following website: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidcontacttracing
- People that have been physically present at a Prohibited Location on or after 11 December 2020 are not permitted to enter South Australia (exceptions apply for an approved Essential Traveller under Schedule 1, a person escaping domestic violence or a person relocating to reside in South Australia)
- People (including children) who have been physically present at a Prohibited Location on or after 11 December that are in South Australia must quarantine at a place determined by an authorized officer starting the day of arrival. A carer of a minor is also required to quarantine.
- People defined above must receive a COVID-19 test 24 hours, on day 5 and on day 12 upon arrival in South Australia.
- At the time of publication SA Health have identified Prohibited Locations as the: Avalon Bowlo (bowling club) and Avalon Beach RSL Club.
- A High Community Transmission Zone has been added to the Direction, this is a local government area in New South Wales that is a designated by SA Health as a high community transmission zone on the following website: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidcontacttracing
- People that have been physically present at a High Community Transmission Zone on or after 11 December 2020 must self-quarantine for 14 days (exceptions apply for an approved Essential Traveller under Schedule 1).
- People defined above must receive a COVID-19 test 24 hours, on day 5 and on day 12 upon arrival in South Australia.
- A person required to undertake self-quarantine must travel to the place of quarantine by the most direct and practical route, reside and remain in that place for the self-quarantine period and remain segregated from other people. They must remain at the place unless they are obtaining medical care and/or supplies, a COVID-19 test, an emergency situation or other reason specified by the State Coordinator. The person must take reasonable steps to ensure no other person enters the place except where the other person is also self-quarantining, entering for emergency proposes, providing/receiving care or they usually reside at the place. If the place of self-quarantine is a short term accommodation facility they must notify the operator that they are undertaking self-quarantine.
- At the time of publication SA Health have identified High Community Transmission Zones as the: Northern Beaches Council and Penrith and Lavender Bay suburbs.
- Essential Travellers are in place for those arriving from overseas, Prohibited Locations and High Community Transmission Zones only. All Essential Travellers will need to apply through the Cross Border Travel Registration and must be approved before entering South Australia. https://www.police.sa.gov.au/online-services/cross-border-travel-application
- If a person ceases to be an Essential Traveller they must complete the remaining quarantine period.
- Essential Traveller categories remain largely unchanged however, have been updated to include compassionate grounds with prior SA Health approval, specialist workers in essential sectors and passing through. For the full list of categories and definitions please see Schedule 1 of the Cross Border Travel Direction No 23.
Residential Aged Care Facilities Direction No 18
The Residential Aged Care Facilities No 18 Direction comes into effect as of 12.0am Saturday 19 December 2020.
The only change to the Residential Aged Care Facilities Direction is:
- The inclusion of the High Community Transmission Zone which is a local government area in New South Wales that is designated by SA Health as a high community transmission zone on the following website: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidcontacttracing
- People from High Community Transmission Zones are not permitted to enter an aged care facility.
Supervised Quarantine Direction No 2
The Self Quarantine No 2 Direction comes into effect as of 12.0am Saturday 19 December 2020.. The only change to the Supervised Quarantine Direction is:
- The requirement for people working in a Red Zone at a South Australia airport site for the purpose of processing overseas arrival and their luggage must receive a COVID-19 test at least every 7 days, for up to 14 days from the date they last worked at the site.
Other existing requirements remain. The information above only highlights the changes key made to the Directions and does not reflect all requirements. Members of the public are encouraged to see the full Directions for further information.
The Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel No 22) (COVID-19) Direction 2020 has been revoked and replaced by the Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel No 23)(COVID-19) Direction 2020. The Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities)(COVID-19) Direction has been revoked and replaced by the Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 18)(COVID-19) Direction. The Emergency Management (Supervised Quarantine)(COVID-19) Direction 2020 has been revoked and replaced by the Emergency Management (Supervised Quarantine No 2) (COVID-19) Direction.
All existing directions, frequently asked questions and other information can be found here: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations
If you require further information you can call the SA COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787 between the hours of 9am to 5pm 7 days per week or go to the SA Health website at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au or www.sa.gov.au/covid-19
