For the first time in two years, South Australians no longer need to isolate for seven days if they're deemed close contacts of a COVID-19 case.
The news was announced last week, and brings the state into line with New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
The change has been welcomed by many within South Australia's hospitality and retail sectors, which have been hard-hit by closures resulting from staff shortages.
The owner of Adelaide restaurant Soi 38, Terry Intarakhamhaeng, described the change in protocol as a "relief."
""I have [had] a lot of staff in the past few weeks isolate because of the close contact [rules] and some nights we've had to close early because we don't have enough staff to run," he said.
Under the changes, close contacts will be allowed to come to work, so long as they notify their employers or education facilities of their close contact status.
They'll need to take five rapid antigen tests over a seven-day period after their exposure to the virus, and wear masks at all times when outside the house.
They will also be prohibited from visiting high-risk settings, such as hospitals and aged care facilities.
Mr Intarakhamhaeng said the rules struck the right balance between keeping the community safe, and businesses running.
"Customer experience is one of our main goals, other than serving great food from our traditional way of cooking," he said.
COVID-19 cases 'certain' to rise
SA has reported 3,907 new cases, about the same as yesterday.
But vice-president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Chris Moy, warned the move would result in an increase of COVID-19 infections in the state.
"It's almost certainly the case that we will see some increase in cases," he said.
"While we see an increase in convenience, with people not being required to quarantine, so more people can go to work, in theory, we pay a price in terms of increased risk of people going around spreading the infection."
Dr Moy welcomed the state government's decision to delay relaxing the restrictions by a week, compared to the eastern states.
"The key thing you have to see every time you remove restrictions is that cases are going down, and that the hospital system is coping. That seems to be the case at the moment," Dr Moy said.
"What we need to see, going forward, is that people continue to get their booster shots, their flu shots, and that we don't see people going to work sick."
The number of patients in SA’s hospitals with the virus has jumped from 222 to 250.
15 people are in ICU, compared to 11 yesterday.
Four women aged between their 70s and 90s have died in South Australia after testing positive for COVID-19.
Currently, 93.4 per cent of South Australians have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, but just over 65 per cent have had three.
