Businesses across South Australia have joined calls for the state government to end the seven-day isolation requirement for COVID-19 close contacts, as it prepares to meet over the issue.
From tomorrow, close contacts in Victoria and New South Wales will no longer have to quarantine, provided they wear a face mask in indoor settings.
A South Australian government spokesperson said the Premier had called an Emergency Management Council meeting for Friday afternoon, to discuss the interstate changes.
"An objective of the state government is to bring in national consistency for COVID restrictions when it is safe to do so," they said.
Business SA executive director David Slama said he was hopeful SA would follow the other states' leads, as current rules had exacerbated staff shortages.
"[Businesses] can't keep their doors open, they can't keep their apprentices on the job or trainees," Mr Slama said.
"We back the national alignment, which is to scrap the close contact rules.
"That's the message we're getting from our members ... that's what employers, whether it be in the regions or cities, want to do."
All states apart from Victoria and NSW still have close contact quarantine requirements.
Tough times
Two years into the pandemic, Business SA said many of its members were struggling harder than ever, with some having to close their doors or cut employees' hours down.
In Whyalla, Elpida Vlachoulis and her husband Jerry had to close their business, Whisk Away Café, for ten days after contracting COVID-19 themselves.
"Working in a café, it's a high-risk area with people coming and going and people from out of town visiting," Ms Vlachoulis said.
"Unfortunately, we had to go and isolate ourselves. You've got to follow the precautions."
Once they re-opened their doors, they had to reduce employees' hours to soften the economic blow.
"I don't like confrontation at all and my staff are like family," Ms Vlachoulis said.
"It took me a little while to build the courage to tell them that their hours would be reduced and when I finally did, they said they understood.
Mark Forbes from Forbes Furniture in Port Lincoln said he was trying to stay positive, despite having to close up shop once already.
"I had a couple of shuffles. We've been very lucky though," he said.
"The week before Easter we had a couple people down, but we've got great staff which allowed us to run at restricted hours.
"It could happen again — we've just got to assess each situation as it comes."
