26.05.2021
2 min read

South Australia closes border to Greater Melbourne amid COVID outbreak

Health officials have also revealed three South Australians are considered close contacts of the Melbourne outbreak.

Plane makes emergency landing on Sydney's Northern Beaches

South Australia will close doors to people coming from Greater Melbourne amid an outbreak of COVID-19.

The border restrictions will come into effect from 6pm on Wednesday, Premier Steven Marshall announced.

South Australian residents in Greater Melbourne will be allowed to return, but must undergo 14 days of quarantine.

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People in the state who had been in Greater Melbourne since May 20 have to isolate for 14 days.

It is unknown how long the border closure will remain in place.

“Our thoughts are with everybody in Melbourne. Any outbreak is something we need to take extraordinarily seriously,” Marshall said.

Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said situation in Melbourne was “very concerning given the large number of exposure sites”.

People can travel to SA from Greater Melbourne if it is for essential purposes and they have a permit.

People coming in from Bendigo can come to the state but will need to undergo testing upon arrival, and isolate until testing negative.

Health officials also revealed three South Australians are considered close contacts of the Melbourne outbreak.

They attended the Port Adelaide and Collingwood AFL game at the MCG last weekend, also attended by a confirmed case.

South Australia has closed its border to people coming from Greater Melbourne. File image. Credit: Getty

They have been asked to isolate, with one of those three still in Melbourne.

More than 400 other South Australians had been identified as being at the ground and are being considered to be tier 2 contacts.

Spurrier said the circumstances meant professional sporting teams needing to travel to Melbourne will be looked at individually to determine if they can get an exemption to the restrictions.

Fifteen cases have been detected in the Melbourne community in the past few days.

- With AAP