Little girl, aged just one, dies with Covid after paramedics called to the home
A little girl has died with Covid-19 – she is believed to be the youngest person in the nation to die after being infected with the virus.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A South Australian child aged just one has died with Covid-19 and is believed to be the youngest person in the nation to have lost their life after being infected with the virus.
The little girl is South Australia’s sixth recorded death of someone with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
It has not yet been determined if the virus caused the child’s death and the case has been referred to the Coroner.
No details were released on whether the child had any other medical conditions. It is understood paramedics were called to the home.
Premier Steven Marshall announced the tragic death on Thursday, along with a major overhaul of the definition of close contacts and testing requirements.
“The family is obviously in a great deal of distress at the moment,” Mr Marshall said.
“It’s a very sad set of circumstances. My condolences to the family. It’s a very tough time.”
A Covid-positive child aged under 10 died in Victoria in November but authorities have not provided any further details on their age.
The latest child death comes as national cabinet held an emergency meeting on Thursday to form a more co-ordinated response to pandemic rules.
From Friday, people are only deemed a close contact if they are living with a positive case, are their intimate partner, or have spent more than four hours in a home or accommodation setting with a confirmed case.
The new rules apply in SA, NSW, Victoria Queensland and the ACT.
Mr Marshall said the relaxed definition of a close contact may be flexible depending on the circumstances, for example in an aged-care setting.
South Australians who test positive have to isolate for 10 days, provided they no longer have symptoms.
Close contacts must still isolate for seven days if they are vaccinated and 14 days if they are unvaccinated.
Those deemed close contacts before today will still have to complete their isolation period.
The state recorded 1374 cases on Thursday, down from a record 1472 the day before.
There are 37 people in hospital, which Mr Marshall said was “well within our current capacity to handle”.
Four people are in ICU and one is on a ventilator.
Mr Marshall stressed PCR testing capacity must now be focused on people with symptoms and close contacts.
States including SA will also start using rapid antigen tests for close contacts who are asymptomatic.
Mr Marshall said about two-thirds of those being tested in SA as of Thursday did not have symptoms.
“Too many people are going for screening (PCR) tests without symptoms. It’s the wrong use of a finite resource,” he said.
Hot weather on Friday and Saturday means many Covid-19 testing sites will close between 10.30am and 5.30pm.
Mr Marshall said there were 780,000 rapid Covid-19 tests in stock in SA.
“We have 10 million RATs either in the system or on order – four million on order now and SA has placed an order for a further five million,” he said.
The rule changes are designed to ease the current pressures on states’ PCR testing network, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
“If you are a close contact that returns a positive RAT, go and get a PCR test,” Mr Morrison said.
“If you are anything other than a close contact and you are not symptomatic, you don‘t need to go get a test.
“You should go home. Go to the beach, go and do what you want to do. Read a book in the park.”
Mr Morrison said the revised definitions formed part of a major “gear change” in the way that Australia had responded to the pandemic.
“I know this is a bit different to what you have been hearing over the last couple of years. That is the gear change. That’s the reset,” he said.
“Dealing with Delta is very different from dealing with Omicron.”
Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said the Omicron strain was also proving to be less severe than the Delta.
“There are 1400 people out of 110,000 (active cases nationally) in hospital, that is much lower than we have seen before,” Prof Kelly said.
“(Omicron) is a different virus, very different from previous versions of the virus we have seen over the last two years.”
South Australia now has 7561 active cases.
Fourteen out of the 20 metropolitan councils have more than 200 active Covid-19 cases in the most recent figures, with Adelaide, Campbelltown and Playford recording the highest rate of cases per capita. Five council areas – Adelaide, Playford, Salisbury, Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield – have more than 500 active cases each.
Meanwhile, SA has also recorded its first Covid-19 case in the prison system – at the Adelaide Women’s Prison at Northfield. “The prisoner was recently admitted and in quarantine when she tested positive,” a Correctional Services Department spokesman said.
“The Communicable Disease Control Branch has been advised and are responding in accordance with agreed protocols.”
‘It can be fatal’: Health warning for SA babies as RSV spike climbs
A health alert has been issued to SA parents after a shock spike in RSV cases presenting to emergency rooms – with more than half being young children under the age of 5.
New emergency ‘threats’ putting SA at risk, landmark inquiry finds
The Covid pandemic, River Murray flood crisis, bushfires and statewide blackout were all declared major emergencies over past 20 years. Now, a major inquiry identifies new threats risking state.