However, the guidelines that will require all non-essential travellers from midnight tonight to be quarantined in government-run facilities for 14 days, will go some way to ensure the highest level of compliance.

Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Tasmania

The Gutwein government was criticised earlier this week for not having personnel at ports to fully enforce self-isolation protocols for those entering.

It seemed all words and no action.

Premier Peter Gutwein's Saturday announcement that Tasmania Police, with the support of the Australian Defence Force, would escort and monitor travellers in Communities Tasmania facilities will now hold those putting Tasmanians at risk to account.

And we should make no apologies for that because we have already seen how much damage negligence can cause.

For example, the floating Petri dishes - cruise ships that have let passengers disembark without quarantine.

The passengers make up a high number of Tamamanian COVID-19 cases.

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This is a serious situation - people you know are at fatal risk of contracting this virus - and if it takes using law enforcement to make people compliant then so be it.

Tasmania should make no apologies.

And the Premier doesn't.

"The opportunity that we've got is that we are an island and we need to take advantage of that," he said.

"Anybody who was found to be blatantly breaching those rules, they will be charged and summonsed."

About 850 spot checks have been carried out in the state to make sure people are complying with quarantine and self-isolation rules, with more than a dozen caught in breach.

The fact that tourists and a minority of the Tasmanians are still not taking self-isolation measures seriously is mind-boggling.

Gatherings of more than 10 people are banned with a $16,800 fine for three months' jail awaiting. This is not a time to host a house party as some idiots have already reportedly done this weekend.

This is not a time to continue to play golf with 20 or 30 of your mates.

As all leaders and medical professionals have been saying for weeks - this is a time to stay at home and only leave for essential goods and services. How can that direct message be misconstrued?

It's because they are in a selfish minority who don't care about the damage they can cause.

The sooner everyone sticks to the social-distancing guidelines the better and as evidence suggests, the less deadly this pandemic will be for Australians.

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