COVID-19 Update (20 Jul 2021)

Dear Colleagues,

I write to you today with a further update regarding the COVID-19 situation across Australia and implications for Tasmania’s border restrictions, particularly for those people who have recently returned from South Australia.

As the Premier has said this afternoon, Tasmania currently has strong border controls in place for the entirety of Victoria and New South Wales. We also have restrictions in place for a number of high risk sites in Queensland.

Today, South Australia has reported five locally acquired cases and has announced a state-wide lock down from 6pm tonight, 20 July 2021 for seven days. In response, from 4pm today, Tasmania’s Director of Public Health has declared that all of South Australia will be declared high risk, level two.

This means anyone wanting to travel to Tasmania from South Australia from 4pm today will not be permitted to enter unless approved as an essential traveller (including returning Tasmanians).

For people who are in Tasmania who were in South Australia on or after 8 July 2021, you need to immediately check the designated high risk premises in South Australia. Anyone who has been at one of those premises must immediately self-isolate and contact the public health hotline 1800 671 738.

Mask wearing

For people who have been in South Australia since 8 July and are now in Tasmania, you are required to wear a mask when in public, avoid public gatherings as much as possible and minimise public interactions for 14 days after being in South Australia.

Due to the Victorian lockdown being extended for another seven days, anyone who has been in Victoria since 8 July must continue to wear a mask while in public, avoid public gatherings as much as possible, minimise public interactions for 14 days after being in Victoria, as well as continuing to ensure you use Check in Tas, monitor the high-risk premises list and also your health for any symptoms.

Attendance at school

Staff and students who have arrived from Victoria and South Australia over the affected periods are required to remain away from school for the remainder of this week with an update to be provided on Friday, 23 July 2021.

Travel

For public servants, Heads of Agency have agreed that for now, interstate travel will not be approved for non-essential work travel. While the choice to travel for personal reasons is of course optional, I encourage you to stay up to date, consider whether you really need to travel at the moment, and monitor the COVID-19  website for the latest updates.

Keeping ourselves and others safe

Everyone in Tasmania will have the opportunity to get a free COVID-19 vaccine this year.  Getting the vaccine when it is available to you will help reduce the risk of COVID-19 as well as enable us all to live our everyday lives more freely.

We all continue to have a key role to play in being COVID safe. While the vaccine rollout is an incredibly important measure in our response, it does not replace the suite of things we all need to continue to do for the safety of ourselves and others:

• Stay at least 1.5 metres away from others;
• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water;
• Stay at home if you are unwell;
• Get tested for COVID-19 if you have any cold or flu-like symptoms; and
• Be aware of, and follow, current gathering, business and travel restrictions.

Yours sincerely