CANBERRA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Premier of the South Australia (SA) state Steven Marshall said Tuesday that the police will be deployed to enforce the state's mandatory quarantine measures for new arrivals.
Marshall said the police will carry out "random checks" on anyone who enters SA from Tuesday afternoon onwards.
Marshall on Sunday announced that SA would effectively close its borders indefinitely from 4:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Anyone who arrives in the state after the deadline will be subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
The premier said the police will be stationed at airports and border crossings taking the address of new entrants so they can carry out the random checks.
Travelers caught violating self-quarantine rules will be fined.
"We're taking this extraordinarily seriously," he told Sky News Australia.
"The next step for us is to implement all of these border closures. We know they are very damaging for businesses in our state but they are necessary.
"We're imploring people to take these restrictions very seriously."
As of 3:00 p.m. local time Tuesday, there have been 2,136 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, 427 more from 24 hours ago, according to the Health Department of the Australian government. In South Australia, the number of confirmed cases reached 170.
The Northern Territory (NT), which shares a 900-km border with SA, has also announced a border lockdown from 4:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
NT Police on Tuesday morning announced that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) would assist in monitoring border crossings.
ADF personnel will establish checkpoints at border crossings while also undertaking medical testing on people entering the NT.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians to cancel any non-essential travel within the country.
