The border along the South East of South Australia will be strengthened with the state's first regional medi-hotel now open.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said the regional medi-hotel would provide stringent quarantining facilities for individuals who cross the border.
"The establishment of the state's first regional hotel is another part of the Marshall Liberal Government's strong plan to protect South Australians from the spread of COVID-19," Minister Wade said.
"The South East is both a key economic region and a key entry point for people travelling by road into South Australia and up until now, anyone who required hotel quarantining was forced to travel to Adelaide to do so.
"The facility will mainly be for essential travellers, members of the cross-border community who receive an exemption and local residents who cannot safely quarantine at their normal place of residence.
"The new medi-hotel facility in the South East provides an added safety net to the strong border controls in place."
Minister Wade said the facility would be managed with the same strict health and safety protocols which have been so effective in the Adelaide-based medi-hotels.
"We have been safely managed thousands of returning Australians in our metropolitan medi-hotels since April and our quarantine process has proven to be both safe and supported.
"The South East medi-hotel will be subject to the same strict quarantine protocols to ensure the ongoing safety of all South Australians.
"Hotel workers have been fully trained in the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) nurses will conduct health checks, with SAPOL, ADF and security services providing a 24-hour presence."
Limestone Coast Local Health Network Chief Executive Officer, Ngaire Buchanan, said the facility is boosting the South East's response to COVID-19.
"We have established the satellite command centre within the LCLHN Incident Management Team (IMT) and, with the addition of a local medi-hotel facility, we can continue to tackle the challenges presented by COVID-19," Ms Buchanan said.
"The community should rest assured that we are prioritising the health and wellbeing of the region throughout this whole process and LCLHN is proud to be a part of this effort.
"Twenty-three staff, including both hotel and nursing staff, have received specialised training to ensure they are well prepared to work at the facility, and all staff members have undergone fit testing to ensure their PPE is tailored specifically to them.
As part of our strict safety protocols to minimise the risk of spread, staff who work at the medi-hotel will not also work at the hospital.
"Our staff look forward to working with the community to ensure we are continuing to take every necessary step to stop COVID-19 coming to our region and eradicating it if it does."
