State emergency coordinator and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens signed a new direction at about 1pm this afternoon which requires anyone transiting through Sydney en route to South Australia to quarantine at home for 14 days and get tested on days one, five and 13 after arriving.

He told reporters a short time ago after a directions committee meeting that the change would particularly impact those in regional Queensland, who plan to travel back to South Australia via Sydney amid growing fears about the spread of the delta variant across the southeast of that state.

Currently, those in regional Queensland who are not in the southeast of the state do not have to quarantine after arriving in South Australia, however, under the new rules, if they transit through Sydney they now need to quarantine.

“This is on the basis that with the number of daily cases being reported in New South Wales, we don’t have any confidence that transiting passengers can maintain a sterile corridor as they’re transiting through the Sydney Airport, and also the potential to be travelling on an aircraft with people from New South Wales who may have been from high-risk locations,” Stevens said.

“It is our understanding that there are no currently-scheduled flights from Queensland through Sydney to South Australia, so this should not have any adverse impact on people who are currently in transit.

“Anybody in regional Queensland will need to revisit their travel plans to make sure they’re not affected by this change of direction, which has taken affect this afternoon.”

Stevens also provided clarification on the number of spectators allowed at community and club sporting matches.

From one minute past midnight on Thursday, spectators at outdoor sporting matches must adhere to a one person per two-square-metre density cap, with the maximum to be capped at 1000.

They must wear masks while watching the matches.

Stevens said SA Health was yet to determine whether spectators could attend indoor sporting competitions “as there is a greater risk of infection transmission in indoor venues”.

He said SA Health was working with the AFL and Adelaide Oval ahead of Saturday’s Showdown.

“I would imagine there would be crowds at the Showdown, but I have no specific information about what that crowd might look like,” he said.

Authorities plan to meet tomorrow to discuss whether to enforce tougher border restrictions on Queensland, after the eastern state today recorded 16 new locally-acquired cases.

Meanwhile, New South Wales reported 199 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 with at least 82 of those people circulating in the community for all or part of their infectious period.