Tasmania sets date for reopening borders to COVID-19 vaccinated people

Premier Peter Gutwein released the state's reopening plan and COVID spread modelling on Friday.

A requirement for entering Tasmania will be full vaccination and a negative COVID test within 72 hours of travel time for those aged over 12. Tasmanians will be exempt from the testing requirement if their trip away is less than seven days.

Those who do not meet these requirements will still be subject to quarantine and testing requirements.

READ MORE: Council, developer clash over rezoning development site

Overseas travellers will also be able to enter Tasmania provided they are fully vaccinated and have given a negative COVID test within 72 hours.

Masks will be required in "high risk" indoor settings and Check In Tas will still be used.

Premier Peter Gutwein said once the borders were open, they would not be closed again.

READ MORE: Isaiah Dixon's family shares emotional tribute

"We are not going to turn back from that date," he said.

"If you're not vaccinated, get it done and get it done as soon as you can.

"Don't wait until December 14, make an appointment today and get it done as quickly and as soon as you can."

At 80 per cent vaccination rates, Tasmania will allow interstate and international travellers to enter from high risk areas, but they must undergo hotel quarantine or home quarantine, based on risk.

Tasmania-specific University of NSW's Kirby Institute modelling was also released on Friday.

Mr Gutwein said under the "let it rip" model without public health social restrictions and no density requirements, Tasmania could see 77,000 COVID-19 cases within 200 days, 636 in hospital at the peak and 168 people in intensive care with 214 deaths.

READ MORE: Aunty Phyllis leaves behind lasting legacy

"We are not going down that pathway," Mr Gutwein said.

The mask mandate in Tasmania's South, following the hotel quarantine breach, has now ended.

The Coach House Hotel in Launceston will become a COVID medi-hotel, joining the existing facility at Fountainside Hotel in Hobart.

Disability sector workers will need to be vaccinated by mid-to-late November, joining aged care and healthcare workers included in a vaccination mandate in Tasmania.

The government will work with the NDIA regarding categories of workers.

The public sector vaccination mandate was not extended further however, despite other states mandating police and teacher be vaccinated. Children under 12 cannot be vaccinated at this stage, although a vaccine could be available in early-2022.

Acting director of Public Health Scott McKeown said it was up to adults to protect children.

"The best thing that can be done for any child under 12 is to ensure that every person around the child that is eligible for a vaccine does get vaccinated," he said.

Tasmania will also not mandate that unvaccinated people are unable to enter various types of venues.

Mr Gutwein said this would be up to individual operators.

"Any venue that wants to put in place those arrangements, that's a matter for a venue," he said.

"NSW have been very clear in their advice that they expect they'll achieve 90 per cent vaccination at a similar time to us, around the first week of December, and at that time their vaccine passport no longer applies.

"Vaccinated and unvaccinated people will have access across the state to all the venues and other services that currently are not available to the unvaccinated."

Vaccination status on Check In Tas will also only be required at airports, Dr McKeown said.

"Once we reach over 90 per cent there's very little benefit in restricting the movements of people who aren't vaccinated because they move in the community, they go to the supermarket, in people's homes," he said.

"The best protection we have is to have our overall level of coverage in the community above 90 per cent with as many people as possible being vaccinated."

While the Southern mask mandate ended on Friday afternoon, it might not be the last time widespread mask use will be required.

Dr McKeown said it would be in response to worsening outbreaks in certain areas.

"We need to ensure that we're well prepared, that we have our masks ready for the possibility of the need for any further mask-wearing requirements in future," he said.

"We may need on particular occasions or situations to change our public health measures if we find that there are a large number of cases that are resulting in high demand on the healthcare system, and we're very concerned about the system being stretched."

Widespread lockdowns would become uncommon.

Mr Gutwein said there could be a need to apply localised lockdowns, however.

"There could be a particular facility like a supermarket or a hospital or a school, for example, that might need to have that lockdown placed around it," he said.

"As a starting point, they will be very targeted. I would not expect that they would go further than a local government area, and I'm certainly not contemplating we would have a lockdown similar to what we had over the weekend occur again."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: