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  • Tasmania will reopen borders on December 15

    Author: AAP

Tasmania's tourism industry has welcomed the announcement of a reopening of state borders on December 15, but called testing requirements a "challenge".

Tasmania will reopen its borders on December 15 to all interstate and international travellers who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

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Premier Peter Gutwein on Friday unveiled the plan, saying he expects everyone in the state over the age of 12 to have had the opportunity to be vaccinated by that date.

"On the 15th of December we will reopen our border," he said.

"We are not going to turn back from that date. If you're not vaccinated, get it done and get it done as soon as you can."

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As part of the reopening plan, arrivals will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of travelling.

Returning Tasmanians will not need a test if they left the state for seven days or fewer.

It is expected more than 90 per cent of Tasmanians will be fully vaccinated by December 15.

The state has had just three cases this year on the back of a hard border approach but has dodged several recent COVID-19 bullets, including a NSW man who escaped quarantine.

"It's important for a state that has no community transmission that, as we reopen our borders, we step very carefully into the travel arrangements," Mr Gutwein said.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania welcomed the firm reopening date but described the test requirements as a "sting in the tail".

"Communicating that requirement to our visitors is going to be a challenge, not to mention the obvious compliance issues," CEO Luke Martin said.

"We'll speak to government ... about what measures they will have in place to ensure that requirement is managed sensibly and kept affordable for visitors."

Mr Gutwein also announced the state will alter border restrictions when 80 per cent of the population over 16 is fully vaccinated, a mark expected to be reached in early November.

When that happens, fully vaccinated travellers from high-risk areas will be allowed to enter Tasmania provided they undertake 14 days of quarantine at a hotel or home.

Mr Gutwein said the plan was based on modelling that put forward a worst-case scenario of 77,000 cases within 200 days if the state was to reopen without any public health measures.

"We are not going down that pathway," he said.

More than 70 per cent of Tasmanians aged over 16 are already fully vaccinated.

The state is currently closed to NSW, Victoria and the ACT, while high-risk locations are declared in Queensland and South Australia.

Mr Gutwein said a vaccination mandate will be introduced for disability workers, with more details to be released next week.

A mask mandate for the south, put in place during a snap three-day lockdown last weekend, has been lifted.

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