The first trial program of home-based quarantine — which is set to include international arrivals — will begin in South Australia this week.

Key points:

  • South Australia will be first in the country to trial at-home quarantine for international arrivals
  • Authorities will use a range of technology to ensure those quarantining stay where they are meant to
  • Premier Steven Marshall will report the trial’s progress to National Cabinet in coming weeks

People returning from New South Wales and Victoria will be the first to take part in the trial, which seeks to quarantine people in homes rather than medi-hotels.

It will then open to international arrivals.

Premier Steven Marshall said SA authorities took the plan to National Cabinet “in the last month or two”.

“We said ‘look, it’s going to be implausible, as we start to open up our international borders, to have everybody in the hotel quarantine situation … as the risk diminishes around the world, we want to do a trial for at-home quarantine’,” he said.

“We’re starting off this week with people coming from Sydney and Melbourne, just to trial it, before we take people in from overseas in the subsequent weeks.”

Mr Marshall said geo-location and facial recognition software would be used to track people who were quarantining.

They will be contacted at random and required to provide proof of their location within 15 minutes.

“As we have more people in quarantine, it’s going to be very, very resource-intensive to have the police going around and checking, so instead we’re going to be using technology to trial,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“I think we’ve got the best QR code check-in app in the country … and I think this is another step forward using technology.”

SA Health officials will conduct risk assessments, with people applying for at-home quarantine having to prove they have a place to isolate.

“We’ve got very tight borders at the moment, there’s a high level of scrutiny … our arrangements with Victoria changed as of 6 o’clock last night, so that will be more people wanting to come into South Australia,” Mr Marshall said.

“Many of those people that come in will be able to take up that option, if it’s safe to do so, in their homes, and I’m absolutely convinced that the technology is the way to go.”

The Premier said he should be in a position to report the results of the trial to National Cabinet within weeks.

If successful, the home-based quarantine scheme is expected to be rolled out in other states and territories.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens announced on Saturday that South Australians returning from Victoria would have to apply for exemptions from 6:00pm Sunday, August 22.(

ABC News: Lincoln Rothall

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On Saturday, the SA Police Commissioner announced that the state was closing its border to Victoria, with returning South Australians having to apply for an exemption to enter via SA Health.

People who had already been given permission to SA and quarantine at home would have to display a sign on the front of their homes, Commissioner Stevens said.

“They will be given a quarantine sign and be given a personal direction by an authorised officer to display that sign on the front of the premises they’re quarantining at for the 14-day period,” he said.

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