State eases borders with WA and NSW

Travellers from NSW and Western Australia will no longer need to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing upon arrival into South Australia.

Premier Steven Marshall announced the changes will come into effect from midnight on Saturday.

It comes as SA closed its border with Greater Melbourne at 12.01am on Thursday.

Under changes to border restrictions, travellers from WA and NSW will no longer need to test for COVID-19 upon arrival into SA after the weekend. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Naomi JellicoeSource:News Corp Australia

SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said she understood the inconvenience border restrictions caused.

“We know this (the UK) variant is at least 50 to 70 per cent more transmissible so for people who have been to Victoria, have come across the border and are not in quarantine, it is very important that you all take a look at the DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) website regularly,” she said.

Professor Spurrier praised her Victorian counterparts for their contact tracing and felt “positive that things would settle down fairly quickly”.

She said the state usually looked for 14 days of no locally acquired cases before easing border restrictions but said it may not be necessary with Greater Melbourne.

“It’s too early to say how long we’ll have that border up for and it will depend on how things go over the next couple of days,” Professor Spurrier said.

“I’m feeling relatively confident, as we’re getting more and more information from Victoria. I’m hopeful that this will settle down.”

Mr Marshall and Professor Spurrier both offered condolences to a truck driver who died in a crash on the SA-Victorian border where motorists queued to cross before borders closed.

The Premier also confirmed popular local events, such as the Adelaide Fringe Festival, WOMADelaide, the Adelaide Festival and the International Women’s Tennis tournament, would run on schedule.

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