SA eases COVID-19 restrictions ahead of schedule

South Australia has fast-tracked its loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, with pubs, restaurants, clubs, cinemas, beauty salons and gyms able to have up to 80 patrons from June 1.

The restrictions were originally due to ease on June 8, but that was revised to June 5 and now June 1 in light of the state's crawling case growth. There has not been a new COVID-19 case recorded in SA since May 7 and only one in the past 33 days.

There were nine new cases recorded Australia-wide on Monday to take the national total of active cases to 482, of which 32 are in hospital and five are on ventilators in ICU.

"These great results give us confidence to gradually and carefully lift the restrictions and get us back to normality," SA Premier Steven Marshall said.

"It's only possible because of the low or no results and high level of testing [the state has completed 90,000 tests]. If it continues, it opens up a world of possibilities of when and what [restrictions] we'll be able to remove in the future."

Mr Marshall gave the all-clear for non-contact sport to resume on June 1 and contact sport on June 25, and will allow 50 mourners to attend funerals.

Having a beer at the pub is also back – venues will be allowed to serve alcohol without food to patrons from next Monday, provided they are seated.

But Mr Marshall warned loosening the restrictions came with stringent compliance measures to keep case growth down.

Businesses will be required to complete COVID-19 safety plans and produce them on request during SA Health or police inspections.

Venues must be able to contain their 80 patrons to groups of 20 in discrete areas of their premises, and rules requiring only one person per 4 square metres and distancing of 1.5 metres remain.

Pressure mounts over border closures

SA is also keeping its "soft" border closure in place, meaning people can visit the state but must have a valid reason for doing so and self-isolate for two weeks on arrival.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk continued to defend her decision to leave her state's borders closed, but suggested that might change in June after a review at the end of the month.

"Let's remember that every other state and territory has their borders closed except for NSW and Victoria. We are not alone," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"I have made it very clear that we will review these issues at the end of each month."

Her comments came as Queensland recorded no new cases on Monday and, after a revision of numbers, subtracted five from its total case count.

Pressure is also mounting on WA to ease state border restrictions, but Premier Mark McGowan said the state border lockdown would probably be one of the last measures lifted.

"The interstate border will stay ... it's a small inconvenience," Mr McGowan said.

The state will ease its internal border restrictions from Friday – just in time for the weekend's WA Day public holiday – but vulnerable remote Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley region, parts of the East Pilbara and the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku will remain closed.

Australia's hard national border will also remain in place for the foreseeable future.

"Border protection and hotel quarantine is literally saving lives and protecting lives and we'll continue to be a fundamental part of our national health and strategic defence going forward," Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Monday.

"Whilst Australia has made progress, the world is not out of woods. We remain an island sanctuary in a difficult world."

Schools reopened for all students in NSW and Queensland on Monday, with both states recording strong attendance rates.

NSW and Queensland recorded strong attendance rates across schools.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said absenteeism in state schools was "not much higher" than before the coronavirus pandemic, and praised parents for getting their children to school in a safe way.

"Our public transport to date hasn't seemed to have buckled under the pressure," she said.