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South Australia has dropped the extended quarantine requirements for close contacts of COVID-19 Omicron cases.

SA has at least two confirmed cases of the new variant, and its arrival last week prompted the state government to increase the isolation requirement for close contacts at exposure sites from seven to 14 days.

But after a meeting of chief health officers from across the country on Monday, SA's Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the isolation requirement for those fully vaccinated would return to seven days.

They are still required to have a day 13 virus test, must not attend high-risk settings or COVID management plan events and must wear a surgical mask when around other people.

Anyone unvaccinated will still be required to quarantine or 14 days.

"This change will align with our response to Delta cases in South Australia and will be more practical to implement given that at some point it will not be possible to differentiate between these strains as the case numbers increase," Professor Spurrier said.

Earlier on Monday, Premier Steven Marshall defended SA's cautious approach to managing the Omicron strain

"We are taking a prudent approach because we do not want a massive Omicron outbreak in the lead-up to Christmas," the premier said.

SA Health on Monday reported 13 new COVID-19 cases.

It said five were in people who recently arrived from interstate, four were close contacts of previous cases and two were in overseas arrivals.

A further two local infections were under review to determine the source.

Mr Marshall said it was believed the majority of the new cases involved the Delta variant.

They took SA's active infections to 65 with three people in hospital, a woman in her 50s and two men in their 30s, all in a stable condition.

More than 2000 people are in isolation after being identified as close contacts or after visiting a growing number of exposure sites.

Mr Marshall said he understood that those placed in isolation were making a "sacrifice" to ensure the majority of South Australians could experience a relatively normal Christmas.

"We appreciate that sacrifice," he said.

However, the premier said far fewer people were being required to quarantine now SA had moved away from the "elimination phase" to the "suppression phase" with its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

© AAP 2021

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner is confident Queensland tourism is back on track after the state reopened its borders under a "more pragmatic" chief health officer.

However the travel boss has urged the Queensland government to declare when it will throw the welcome mat out for international visitors.

Tens of thousands of fully jabbed interstate travellers began arriving by road and air following the Queensland government's decision to drop entry and quarantine restrictions at 1am on Monday after hitting the 80 per cent double vaccination target.

It has sparked hope interstate Queensland tourism can generate millions for the state economy again and maybe even threaten pre-COVID-19 levels when it brought in $10 billion annually.

Mr Turner was quietly confident the border would stay open under Dr John Gerrard, who started work as new chief health officer on Monday, in what would be a shot in the arm for Queensland tourism.

Dr Gerrard on Monday warned COVID-19 would spread throughout the state with the borders reopening but did not expect hospitals to be overwhelmed.

He said despite an Omicron "curve ball" he expected Queenslanders to be protected thanks to the high vaccination rates.

"I think the new CHO does seem much more pragmatic than the health department has been in the past," Mr Turner told AAP.

"People are starting to believe we won't get locked down again quickly which I think previously they were worried about that.

"A lot of this depends on the health advice and if you have a pragmatic CHO that is a really good start."

Flight Centre received a huge online spike after the border reopened, with around 100 flights booked every hour from 9am on Monday.

Qantas and Jetstar were expected to carry 10,000 passengers on flights to and from the state on Monday.

They will this week operate around 700 flights to and from Queensland across 28 routes from Victoria and NSW and up to 1200 weekly flights next week.

Virgin Australia announced flights as low as $59 one-way to destinations throughout the state, with more than one million seats made available.

"It is a really good start. There is no doubt everyone is breathing a sigh of relief," Mr Turner said of the border reopening travel response.

However, he hoped the state government would confirm when they would ease quarantine restrictions for international travellers sooner rather than later.

The Queensland government says it will drop quarantine requirements for double dosed overseas arrivals once the state hits the 90 per cent fully vaccinated milestone, expected to occur by mid-January.

Asked if he expected Queensland tourism to bounce back, Mr Turner said: "So far so good but there is still a long way to go.

"It would be good to know when we are open to international visitors ... regardless of the exact vaccination rate."

The border reopening is a much-needed boost for tourism, particularly in the state's far north where more than 9000 industry jobs had been lost since early 2020.

"Both NSW and Victorian visitors put a million a day each into this economy so we have really been looking forward to having them back," Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen told Nine Network.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was confident Queensland tourism would recover.

"The Queensland tourism industry is worth more than $20 billion a year, it supports more than 200,000 jobs and ...when Queensland prospers, Australia prospers," he told Seven Network.

© AAP 2021

Western Australia will begin to ease its hard borders on February 5, finally reconnecting the state to the rest of nation.

The announcement by Premier Mark McGowan on Monday has ended months of speculation and frustration for locked-out families.

The state first introduced the unprecedented hard borders with other states in April 2020, with entry and exit controls lasting more than 600 days.

WA's borders are currently closed or heavily restricted to every state or territory except Tasmania.

Mr McGowan said the tough restrictions had enabled WA residents to live normal lives inside the state's COVID-free bubble.

"We followed a different model to the others, and it's worked," he told reporters.

Under the eased restrictions in place from 12.01am on February 5, all domestic arrivals aged 12 and over into WA must be double vaccinated unless they have a medical exemption.

Testing requirements will be based on the length of trips, with people visiting for six days or more required to get a negative PCR result within 72 hours of departure, and take another test within 48 hours of arrival.

Those in WA for five days or less will only have to get a negative test within 72 hours of departure.

WA residents who leave the state and return within five days must take a test within 48 hours of returning home.

International arrivals will also have to return a negative PCR test before they depart, and undertake a second test within 48 hours of arriving, as well as on day six.

If overseas travellers are double vaccinated they will not have to quarantine, but if they are unvaccinated or have not had an approved vaccine, they will have to quarantine for 14 days.

Mr McGowan said a cap would be imposed on unvaccinated arrivals.

The state's double-dose vaccination rate for residents 12 and over reached 80 per cent on Monday, and it's anticipated the vaccination rate will have climbed to 90 per cent by February 5.

"Many people have family abroad that they've been unable to see for nearly two years, I'm sure this date will be a cause for relief or even celebration," Mr McGowan said.

Transitional restrictions will include a requirement to wear face masks in high-risk indoor settings such as public transport, hospitals and aged care facilities.

Proof of vaccination will be required to attend large events with crowds of more than 1000 people, as well nightclubs, major stadiums and the casino.

Entry to remote Indigenous communities will remain restricted and contact registers will still be used.

Mr McGowan warned that the Pilbara was one of several regions in WA with a low vaccination rate, which if it does not lift above 80 per cent by February 5, would see more restrictions imposed on unvaccinated people.

State and federal leaders were briefed by the chief health officer about the Omicron variant at Friday's national cabinet meeting and told that while the new variant was more transmissible, it was likely to be less severe.

© AAP 2021