The government will also increase the period in which somebody who has previously been infected with COVID is immune from being identified a close contact, from eight weeks post-isolation to 12 weeks.
The changes were announced by Malinauskas a short time ago following a meeting of the state’s Emergency Management Council.
The Premier said the changes would bring South Australia “into line with the rest of the nation” and would go “a long way to releasing a lot of people who are currently or could be close contacts to be able to go on with their daily lives”.
“We want to get to national consistency, we want South Australians to be able to enjoy changes in COVID management that other parts of the country have, but we’ve got to be able to manage that in a clinically appropriate way xjmtzywconsistent with the health advice,” he said.
“The art here is getting that balance right.”
Malinauskas said agreement was also reached on an April 14 deadline to remove mask-wearing rules.
He said masks would still be required in “high-risk settings” such as aged care facilities and hospitals, but the “general mask mandates applying throughout the state” would be removed.
“I think most South Australians can’t wait for the day to come when they are not required to wear masks,” he said.
“Barring a big change in circumstances, barring a new variant and what have you then we are working towards removing mask mandates that apply generally to the people of South Australia by the 14th of April – that is the day before Easter.
