A newly built Adelaide hotel has been chosen as the site of South Australia's standalone facility to house COVID-19 cases.
The move is in line with a review of the state's hotel quarantine system, which followed a cluster of coronavirus cases developing in November after the virus escaped from an existing facility.
It came as SA Health reported four new infections on Friday, all people who recently returned from overseas and are currently in quarantine.
Acting Health Minister Rob Lucas says all COVID-19 cases will now be transferred to the Tom's Court Hotel when it becomes operational in February.
"Tom's Court is a brand-new, 72-bed facility that includes four rooms with apartment-style facilities suitable to accommodate families and two purpose- built disability suites," he said.
Many of its rooms have balconies and opening windows for fresh air, with the central location allowing for a rapid transfer to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Some modifications will be made to the heating and air-conditioning systems and more CCTV cameras will be installed, Mr Lucas said.
More than 8000 people have quarantined in Adelaide's medi-hotels since the start of the pandemic.
The introduction of a standalone facility for people with COVID-19 is designed to improve safety and give them access to better support.
"To make the medi-hotel system as safe as possible, we have mandated routine testing of staff, implemented symptom checking and training reviews at the start of each shift, rolled-out refresher training on infection control measures and improved the security model," Mr Lucas said.
"We have also increased health support and mental health wellbeing checks for guests.
"COVID-19 isn't going away any time soon and we are committed to putting as many shields as possible between the virus and the South Australian community for as long as it takes."
Tom's Court will be exclusively staffed by SA Health workers and police for nursing and security purposes.
The agreement with the operators has been signed for six months, with an option to extend.
Meanwhile, South Australia on Friday introduced a hard border closure with NSW in response to the growing number of cases in Sydney.
Only returning SA residents, people permanently relocating and essential travellers are exempt from the new rules.
Returning residents or people relocating will still need to quarantine for 14 days and can only make that trip once.
A 100-kilometre buffer zone will also be put in place on the SA-NSW border to allow cross-border residents free movement across the state line.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction's restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus. Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania
