NewsColony
South Australia SCRAPS plan to open the state border on 20 July
South Australia has scrapped a plan to lift all its remaining border restrictions next month due to a spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria.
Premier Steven Marshall said the July 20 date to lift quarantine measures for Victoria, NSW and the ACT has been abandoned on the latest health advice.
He said the state, which has already opened its border to people from Queensland, the NT and WA, may move separately on NSW and the ACT but can’t set a date for Victoria in the current circumstances.
‘Our number one priority is the health, welfare and safety of all South Australians. At this stage we cannot lift that border (with Victoria) on the 20th July as we were hoping to do,’ the premier told reporters on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has banned Victorians from buying tickets to sports games in NSW.
‘Unfortunately Victorians aren’t welcome to purchase tickets given the rate of community transmission down there,’ she said.
South Australia has scrapped a plan to lift all its remaining border restrictions next month due to a spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria. Pictured: Premier Steven Marshall
The Victorian government is considering fresh lockdown measures as the state is swamped by a second wave of coronavirus.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton today said he would recommend ‘anything necessary’ to stop the spread after 75 new cases were reported on Monday.
The last time Victoria recorded that many cases was on 31 March when 96 new patients tested positive.
The state’s highest new daily case number came on 28 March when 111 cases were reported. That day was the peak of the pandemic in Australia with 460 new cases nationwide.
The Victorian government is considering fresh lockdown measures as the state is swamped by a second wave of coronavirus
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton today said he would recommend ‘anything necessary’ to stop the spread after 75 new cases were reported on Monday. Pictured: Testing at Melbourne Showgrounds on Monday
Professor Sutton warned that ‘things will get worse before they better’ and said the government was planning new rules to limit the spread.
But measures would be different to the sweeping shut downs initially imposed in March when the first wave of the virus hit.
Shops, restaurants and bars, which only re-opened this month, would not have to close again because their COVID-safe plans including social distancing mean the risk of transmission is well-managed, Professor Sutton said.
Instead, any new rules would focus on limiting the number of people that residents can interact with.
This is because most of the recent transmission has been happening at family gatherings.
Under current rules, Victorians are allowed five visitors in their home at once and can meet in public in groups of 10 – but these limits could be revised down.
Professor Sutton also said the government is looking at ways to encourage people to stay at home if they get flu-like symptoms or if they have tested positive for the virus.
He said too many people were failing to self-isolate after police caught 13 people breaking quarantine orders last Monday.
‘What we are seeing is transmission across settings because people are still going out with symptoms,’ Professor Sutton said.
‘Outbreaks are occurring across multiple households, across work and other settings.’
One option would be to copy the system used in Taiwan where a person in self-isolation gets a daily phone call to check they are at home. If they do not answer, they are tracked down and fined.
Professor Sutton also said the government was considering locking down entire suburbs which have outbreaks, although he admitted this would be a logistical challenge.
‘We don’t want to drive people out of suburban areas, into new, unaffected areas. So there is a balancing act in terms of making the call on a lockdown,’ he said.
‘But it is absolutely an option and we flagged the possibility of using it and we will use it, if it is required.’
On Sunday the government extended the quarantine time for returned travellers from 14 days to 24 days if they refuse to get tested after it was revealed that 30 per cent were being let out without a swab.
Rules forcing patients to stay in their homes could be enforced more strictly with daily check-ups. Pictured: Community engagement teams are door knocking residents in coronavirus hotspots to provide additional information about the virus
Source: Daily Mail australia
The post South Australia SCRAPS plan to open the state border on 20 July appeared first on NewsColony.
NewsColony
source https://newscolony.com/south-australia-scraps-plan-to-open-the-state-border-on-20-july/
Comments
Post a Comment