The health and safety of Tasmanians remains our number one priority, and we have taken immediate precautionary action today in response to the COVID-19 cluster in Adelaide.
Today has been a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of COVID-19, and we will continue to take a proactive and responsible approach to managing our borders, scaling up or down swiftly as needed, to manage risk.
As South Australia Health works rapidly to contact trace and test, Public Health officials in Tasmania have determined South Australia a ‘medium risk jurisdiction’ for passengers coming into our state tonight via air and tomorrow morning on the Spirit of Tasmania.
This means they will need to go into quarantine either in a suitable residence, or government hotel. Given the short timeframe for notice, the Tasmanian Government will pay for those required to hotel quarantine.
This includes a scheduled cohort of seasonal workers due to arrive in Tasmania from the Adelaide area.
Anyone who has arrived in Tasmania and has spent time in South Australia since 7 November 2020 must self-isolate in their residence or accommodation and await advice from Public Health officials.
Public Health also advises anyone in Tasmania who has been in the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide’s northern suburbs since last Friday 13 November to come forward for a COVID-19 test. I also want to remind people that if you are seriously ill or in need of emergency assistance, please don’t hesitate to call 000 and outline your circumstances to the operators and you will receive assistance.
Anyone who has arrived in Tasmania from South Australia since 7 November should be alert for symptoms and contact the Public Health Hotline to arrange a test if they experience any, even if they are mild.
In addition, anyone who has arrived in Tasmania from South Australia since 7 November and wants to be tested for coronavirus, even without experiencing symptoms, should contact the Public Health Hotline and a test will be arranged.
It is important we take these immediate and decisive steps to protect Tasmanians.
South Australia’s contact tracing specialists are currently working to understand the nature of the outbreak, and we will be in a better position to provide a further update tomorrow when we have additional information.
For more information and updates, visit the coronavirus website at www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au