The South Australian government opted to keep borders open to the rest of the country at the weekend,with two additional testing hurdles for people arriving from Victoria,NSW and the ACT. But Premier Steven Marshall has not ruled out closing the border if Omicron cases rose.
Mr Andrews said he had shared text messages with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet,and they had agreed to attempt to keep their border regulations the same and allow movement between their states ahead of the festive season.
“The situation in some of those states is very different to what’s occurring in Victoria and New South Wales,” Mr Andrews said.
“One,there’s much more virus here and in New South Wales than in the so-called ‘zero states’,and the double-dose vaccine rates are much higher in New South Wales and Victoria compared to some other states,although they are finishing the year with a flourish and getting closer.
“I’ve never been one to criticise other states making what they believe to be the right choice,but we will not be pursuing an ‘Omicron zero’ strategy here,we don’t think that makes any sense. It may already be here.”
Queensland is still expected to open its borders for quarantine-free travel on about December 10 for eligible people who have had at least two doses and tested negative. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said late last week there were “no plans to change” Queensland’s road map in light of the new COVID-19 variant.