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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-11-16 Daily Xml
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COVID-19 Restrictions

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing about COVID measures announced yesterday by the government.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: As we know, on 23 November the government will be opening up the state's borders to allow travel from other states and also overseas, although there remain certain conditions, many of which still remain unclear and appear to have created more confusion and angst in the community and will place more economic pressure on industries like hospitality, arts and entertainment. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does home or hotel quarantine apply to vaccinated residents returning home from a place that has been designated, or becomes, a hotspot, and for how long?

2. Why are fully vaccinated people wishing to come to South Australia from other states being informed on SAPOL's website that applications on forms can only be lodged from a minute past midnight on 23 November, meaning that hundreds who have already made plane and hotel bookings may be forced to change their plans?

3. How will SA Health and SAPOL hope to handle the higher number of travel applications from next week in a timely manner?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:26): The South Australian COVID-Ready Plan, as I indicated earlier, looks to open borders to fully vaccinated people from all Australian states and territories, subject to them coming from an LGA which doesn't have both community transmission and less than 80 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.

In terms of the issue of approvals for entry, there will be announcements made in the not too distant future in terms of how that process will be managed, but I would indicate to the council that SA Health, the police and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet have worked together extremely effectively to plan for a new integrated approach. As I understand it, the new system will mean that there will be a need for one application rather than an application to police and SA Health.

In terms of exemptions if required, we still expect that there will be exemptions sought after 23 November, and certainly good progress has been made in reducing the outstanding exemption applications that had built up as we faced outbreaks in three eastern jurisdictions since the middle of June. I think that answers the member's questions.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo, a supplementary.

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