Today we have released Tasmania’s Safe Border Strategy which highlights key action areas to maintain a vigilant and proactive approach to managing the COVID-19 risk at our borders, in our community and vulnerable settings as we move to ease our border restrictions.
At this stage, our plan continues to be that on October 26 we will open to the low risk jurisdictions of South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and the ACT.
We are continuing to monitor the situation in New South Wales closely and we will provide an update on October 19, about our border arrangements with that state.
Our Safe Borders Strategy is based on and supported by a robust planning framework for Tasmanian settings, the COVID-19 Case and outbreak management framework for Tasmanian settings, which is publicly available on the Department of Health website.
I want to assure Tasmanians that the processes we will put in place at our borders will be sensible and robust.
Anyone travelling to Tasmania from low risk jurisdictions will be required to register their travel and contact details before entering the state via a new Tas E-Travel registration system. We will be communicating more about how travellers can register through this system via the coronavirus.tas.gov.au website in coming weeks.
Anyone who has spent time in high risk areas will still have to apply to enter our state via the G2G system.
Importantly, there will be health screening for all arrivals to our State including temperature checks and questions regarding whether they have any symptoms.
Following health screening, those from low risk areas who have symptoms will be requested to get a test and to isolate until the result is known.
When it comes to arrivals who visit our State via the Spirit of Tasmania, travellers coming to Tasmania from low risk jurisdictions will need to transit directly through Victoria, only stopping for fuel.
We are constantly reviewing all of these measures as part of ensuring all our capabilities are ready as we move forward.
As we move to implement Step 2 of our transition plan for our borders, it is not the time for complacency – it is more important now than ever to keep following the simple rules, so we can continue doing the things that we enjoy.
Remember, wash your hands, cover your coughs and sneezes, if you’re unwell stay at home and don’t go to work, and if you display even the mildest symptoms, please, get a test.
A copy of the Safe Borders Strategy can be found here: http://bit.ly/TASBorderStrategy
A copy of the COVID-19 Case and outbreak management framework for Tasmanian settings is available here: http://bit.ly/TASframework