In reaction to the newest coronavirus outbreak, the state government of South Australia (SA) has strengthened border controls.
SA confirmed 18 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, 16 of which were linked to a school reunion function on Saturday night, while the other two are thought to have been infected interstate.
Authorities have not identified the source of the school reunion outbreak, but they believe it is the result of someone bringing coronavirus into South Africa after the country opened its borders to COVID-affected New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on November 23.
In reaction to the outbreak and worries about the Omicron form, South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has mandated that all visitors from NSW be tested upon arrival.
Quarantine rules for overseas arrivals have also been extended from seven to fourteen days.
Marshall said the increase in case numbers after the border was not surprising, but that the Omicron issue must be studied “extraordinarily carefully.”
As the country battles the third wave of illnesses, Australia announced more than 1,700 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
The majority of new cases were recorded in Victoria, the country’s second-most populous state, where 1,418 locally acquired illnesses and 10 deaths were reported.
After a recently returned overseas visitor tested positive in NSW, the number of confirmed Omicron cases in the country has risen to eight.
According to the Department of Health, 92.6 percent of Australians aged 16 and over had received one vaccine shot and 87.4 percent had received their second dosage as of Wednesday.
