South Australia will make sweeping reforms to its hotel quarantine system after a cluster of COVID-19 cases, with anyone found to be infected relocated to a hospital guarded by police.
Premier Steven Marshall says anyone who tests positive while in a medi-hotel, including returned travellers, will be moved to a dedicated health facility.
That is most likely to be a previously disused private hospital which was refurbished and brought back into service when the pandemic first struck.
All security at that facility will be provided by police and staff will not be allowed to work at other high-risk locations, including prisons and aged care centres.
As an added security measure, Mr Marshall will ask national cabinet to consider testing all Australians returning from overseas before they are allowed to board their flights.
A negative test would be required before anyone is permitted to travel, under SA's proposal.
The premier said while no system could eliminate all risk, the government would do whatever it could to make the quarantine arrangements safer.
"We continue to act swiftly and decisively based on the expert health advice," Mr Marshall said.
"What we must do is put as many shields as possible between the virus and the community."
So far 29 coronavirus cases have been linked to the so-called Parafield cluster which was sparked when a worker at the Peppers Hotel contracted the virus from a returned traveller.
That was initially thought to be a cleaner, but Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said further investigations had determined that a security guard was the first person infected.
However, Professor Spurrier said an examination of CCTV footage from Peppers had found no breach of safety protocols.
"I can absolutely confirm that nobody was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I think that is the most important thing," she said.
No new COVID-19 cases were reported with SA now having 38 active infections.
Only one person remains in hospital, with a woman in her 50s in a stable condition.
More than 9400 tests were conducted on Tuesday, while on Wednesday a new regulation came into force requiring all people working in quarantine hotels to have weekly coronavirus swabs.
The direction applies to SA Health officials, defence force personnel and all employees and contractors, including cleaning and security staff.
Amid growing calls for a wider independent investigation into the hotel quarantine issues, Mr Marshall said such an inquiry would be conducted but not until after the pandemic emergency had passed.
A police investigation is already underway into the incorrect information that sparked last week's brief statewide lockdown after it prompted fears of widespread community transmission from the Parafield cluster.
As that probe continues, SA has put international arrivals on hold and has decided to deep clean the Peppers Hotel.
Mr Marshall said South Australia remained committed to playing its part in the repatriation process and would resume international flights when it was safe to do so, although probably at lower numbers than in recent weeks.
He said SA also remained on course to ease local COVID-19 restrictions from December 1.
He plans to lift the state's border restrictions with Victoria at that time.
"We are hopeful, if there is no spike in the number of cases, that we are on track to go back to where we were prior to the Parafield cluster," the premier said.
