Health unions 'very concerned' about COVID-19 under Tasmania's border reopening plan

Tasmania's health unions say they're concerned about how the state's hospitals will cope when the state opens to travellers from COVID-19 hotspots in December.

Vaccinated interstate and international arrivals will be able to enter the state without quarantining from December 15 — provided they test negative for COVID-19 in the 72 hours before they travel provided they test negative for COVID-19 in the 72 hours before they travel — when Tasmania expects to achieve a double-vaccination target of 90 per cent.

Health and Community Services Union assistant secretary Robbie Moore said he was "very concerned" that the health system would not cope with the number of cases projected by modelling from the Kirby Institute.

The modelling assumes Tasmania will have an average of 258 COVID-19 cases a day over the six months from December 1, under a scenario where current health measures remain in place, as well as a high level of contact tracing.

It forecasts 87 people would die in that period, with 242 hospital beds to be occupied by COVID-19 patients at the peak of the outbreak.

Under the reopening plan, Tasmanians returning home would not be required to take a COVID-19 test if they had been away from the state for fewer than seven days.

Adam Langenberg has the whole story here.