South Australia will change how it handles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as it prepares to end the state's emergency management declaration.
The new Labor government has introduced legislation to amend the Public Health Act to allow for some virus restrictions to be carried over after the planned lifting of the emergency declaration on June 30.
The new laws will allow for continued measures such as vaccine and mask mandates in hospitals, aged and disability care, and other healthcare settings.
They will also allow requirements to be set for virus-positive people and their close contacts.
But they will rule out the imposition of lockdowns, hospitality restrictions and broader mask mandates.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said South Australians had been subject to the emergency declaration for more than two years and it was time for it to end.
"When the declaration ends, it is important that we still have some protections in place for our most vulnerable South Australians," he said.
"These South Australians are most at risk from being seriously ill if they contract COVID."
The government's move comes after officials on Tuesday confirmed the latest coronavirus sub-variants had been detected in SA.
The latest whole-genome sequencing among infections reported last week found one case of the Omicron BA.4 variant and one of the BA.5 variant.
Both were detected in returned international travellers.
Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said while the number of cases of the new sub-variants was expected to increase and there was some preliminary evidence they were more transmissible, it was too early to tell what impact they might have on total infections and hospitalisations.
"I would not be suggesting we change any of our current public health settings," she said.
"We'll be watching the case numbers and watching the hospitalisations."
South Australia currently has few virus restrictions, after dropping widespread mask mandates before Easter and last week removing the need for close contacts to isolate.
