Tasmania's past two COVID cases highlight deficiencies with how people are allowed to enter the island state.
Firstly, a 31-year-old NSW man breached interstate stay-at-home orders and flew into Launceston Airport in August.
Secondly, a 15-year-old boy arrived from Melbourne on Friday and before testing positive broke home quarantine rules by attending an IGA supermarket in Newnham on Saturday.
There have been no cases of COVID in the community in Tasmania since May last year and while we know another case is inevitable, getting into the state with the virus seems not impossible.
And while it is easy to be angry at those who have flouted the safety of Northern Tasmanians, it appears as we plan to open up when we hit a 90 per cent fully vaccinated rate plans for tighter border controls must be brought forward.
Premier Peter Gutwein, who is on a well-earned holiday, has signalled that by mid-November travellers will face greater scrutiny.
"For example, asking those who want to travel to Tasmania from states that have got significant COVID to be tested in the 72 hours before they leave and have a negative test, [and] importantly travel for double vaccinated passengers only," he said last week.
"We're also considering whether or not there are tests that need to be taken once people arrive within a short period of time and whether or not there may be a short period of quarantine depending on the jurisdiction they're coming from."
So what's the delay? Why not now?
Rapid antigen test kits have been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and will be available for people to use at home from November.
But in the interim, travellers from COVID states should be required to provide a normal negative test before boarding a flight to Tasmania, particularly when the home quarantine program has been expanded.
The aim should still be to keep COVID out of Tasmania until everyone has had the chance to be fully vaccinated.
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