South Australia will open its borders to Victoria as of 12:01 am Friday morning, delivering relief for Victorian holidaymakers and South Australian tourism operators alike. State member for Lowan in western Victoria, Emma Kealy, was critical of the restrictions then in place for regional Victorians, telling FlowNews24 late last week:
“As school holidays are coming up around the corner, I fear that the South Australian government might be cutting off their nose to spite their face.
“South Australian businesses are really going to suffer by simply not being able to have visitors from regional Victoria, who haven’t been anywhere near a case of coronavirus ever.
“That’s a decision that the South Australian Premier has made, and it’s up to Premier Marshall to justify the harm that is being done to those businesses and what support he’s going to provide to those businesses to compensate for cutting off this important tourist trade for those local South Australian businesses.
On Tuesday, South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, said under new restrictions applying from Friday morning, travellers from Melbourne will be under the same arrangements as arrivals from regional Victoria. They will need to isolate upon arrival until a COVID-19 test is obtained. The arrivals will also be banned from attending high-risk locations, such as aged care homes and major events. Commissioner Stevens said:
"Simply isolate prior to getting the test and then they’re free to go about their business in South Australia.
"Clearly people want to travel during the school holidays, it was a factor of the discussion, I would suggest it’s not the principal reason that we’re making changes, but it’s certainly one that we’re mindful of."
Full restriction details imposed by South Australia can be viewed here.
The bans on attending events likely to be attended by over 1,000 people also applies to arrivals from seven affected councils in metropolitan Sydney, and includes this week’s AFL match between the Power and the Swans.
The match-up may yet be moved from its Saturday night timeslot, as the Swans could fly-in, play and fly-out within close to 24 hours, as Collingwood and Geelong did recently.