South Australia's new Premier has relaxed COVID-19 close contact rules, as the state records 4,549 new cases and four deaths linked to the virus.
Quarantine for household close contacts has been reduced from 14 days to seven days, effective immediately.
"This is about bringing South Australia into line with the rest of the nation," Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
Close contacts must have a negative PCR or rapid antigen test to leave quarantine.
Mr Malinauskas also announced that as of 12:01am on Saturday, the definition of a close contact will change.
To be classed as a close contact, someone will have to have spent four hours in face-to-face unmasked interaction with a positive case, or be a household contact.
Previously the defined time period was just 15 minutes.
The definition change does not apply to existing close contacts, who will need to complete their quarantine period.
The government will also extend the time frame previously infected people are exempted from consideration as close contacts, from eight weeks to 12.
Meanwhile, the state's total number of active cases sits at 28,198, and comes a day after South Australia recorded its second highest daily caseload on record.
The four COVID-linked deaths include men in their 30s, 40s and 80s, and a woman in her 90s.
The state has 157 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including six in intensive care.
Mr Malinauskas also flagged that mask rules will be relaxed on April 14, unless significant changes occur.
However, people attending events at Adelaide Oval will now only need to wear masks when entering and exiting the oval, and in fully enclosed indoor areas.
"If you're at the footy and you're lining up for your chips and a Coke, or something else, then you will not have to wear a mask unless it's in a fully enclosed environment, which of course most places aren't at Adelaide Oval," Mr Malinauskas said.
Mr Malinauskas, who has also ruled out extending school holidays due to COVID pressures, said he was "really happy" to announce the rule changes.
"I don't think we want to be popping champagne corks just yet about COVID, there's a long way to go," he said.
"We know that COVID's going to be with us for some time and the risk of new variants and the like is going to be with us for awhile.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens will also seek a further 28-day extension of his powers under the emergency management declaration, due to expire on April 1.
Despite previously stating he hoped the current extension would be the last, Mr Stevens said continuing the declaration allows SA health to compel people to quarantine and isolate.
"We think we're close to the end of this in terms of having to manage it so proactively, so there's no justification to change the way we're dealing with it," he said.
Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said the state was in a "BA.2 wave", and relaxing both masks and close contact rules now would result in a "significant" increase in cases and hospitalisations.
However, she said South Australians could feel "fairly confident" about the mask rules being relaxed at Easter, after the peak of the wave.
"I'm certainly feeling pretty happy about that, I'm pretty excited about that as well," she said.
Newly elected Health Minister Chris Picton said "very urgent work" was underway to ensure the health system could manage under predictions of up to 150 COVID patients a day in hospital in the coming weeks.
"All options are of course on the table including sadly, if elective surgery has to be cancelled down the track," he said.
