SA records one new local case, no changes to restrictions
SA recorded one new locally acquired Covid case on Friday – the miner’s fourth child – as the Police Minister, who is 34, gets the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The baby daughter of a sick miner has become the state’s latest Covid-19 case.
The miner and his wife, both aged in their 30s, from Adelaide’s northeastern suburbs, and their four children, all aged under 10, have now tested positive to the dangerous Delta variant.
The baby is “clinically well”, according to chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier.
The infant’s father, a fly-in-fly-out worker at the Northern Territory’s Tanami goldmine site, almost 550km northwest of Alice Springs, was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Friday for checks amid fears his condition was deteriorating.
Prof Spurrier said the miner was “very unwell” but declined to provide specific details.
He later returned to his family at the Tom’s Court Covid facility in the CBD.
The family of six are listed in a stable condition. The family’s pregnant pet dog, Madeline, a St Bernard, is isolating at the RSPCA for 14 days.
Another man, aged in his 20s, was also taken to the RAH before returning to Tom’s Court.
There are now 16 “active”, or infectious, patients in Tom’s Court.
Praising the miner’s family for following health orders to isolate, Prof Spurrier said CCTV showed he spent 4½ minutes in Adelaide Airport after returning on Virgin flight VA1742 from Alice Springs on Friday last week.
A “double ring” was placed around 344 primary and 134 secondary contacts to isolate. Seventeen close family contacts, including grandparents, have tested negative. All 116 fellow Virgin travellers are isolating.
Just two of 14 workers at the KFC outlet at Torrensville, where the miner visited, are awaiting test results. The others are negative.
Authorities have downplayed whether restrictions will be eased before midnight on Tuesday but the state’s Covid-19 transition committee is due to meet Sunday.
Official figures show 13,123 people had Covid tests on Thursday, a total that is among the state’s highest.
SA Health on Friday night announced Adelaide’s biggest Covid-testing clinic at Victoria Park would open around the clock until midnight on Monday. Prof Spurrier urged people to be vigilant and to get tested and vaccinated.
“There’s no time for complacency; it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourselves,” she said.
Federal data shows more than a third out of every 100 adults have been immunised against Covid-19, up from 32.4 last week and 28.6 a fortnight ago.
SA Health figures show more than a quarter of nearly 450,000 patients have received both doses of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer.
Police Minister gets AstraZeneca vaccine
Police Minister Vincent Tarzia has been stabbed – but there’s no need to call the authorities.
The Liberal MP happily rolled up his sleeve to receive an AstraZeneca jab on Friday.
At 34 years old, Mr Tarzia became eligible to be immunised earlier this week after the Federal Government introduced a new indemnity scheme that allowed GPs to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to any adult regardless of their age.
This is despite the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation’s health advice that AstraZeneca is the preferred vaccine for over 60s.
Mr Tarzia said the age limits for the AstraZeneca vaccine were revised, he immediately booked an appointment with his GP.
“I am confident, after consulting with my doctor, that the AstraZeneca vaccine was the right choice for me,” he said.
“We know from around the globe, and recent outbreaks across the country, the consequences of Covid-19 and I want to do everything I can to protect South Australians.”
Mr Tarzia encouraged every South Australian to consider their vaccine options.
“Please roll up your sleeve – vaccination is one of our best lines of defence against this virus,” he said.
On Tuesday, following the federal government expansion of the vaccine rollout, SA Health announced it would continue to only offer the Pfizer vaccine to people under 60 at its clinics.
Premier Steven Marshall and Prof Nicola Spurrier at the time gave lukewarm support for the expansion of the AstraZeneca rollout, saying it was a “personal” and “individual” choice.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young was less restrained, saying she did “not want under 40s getting AstraZeneca,” amid concerns over clotting illnesses.
SA restrictions under review
Prof Spurrier said she hoped SA would was in a position to review the current restrictions next week but urged people to remain vigilant.
“We just need to assess the risk not only in our own state but also our surrounding neighbours,” she said.
“There’s no time for complacency, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourselves but there’s just no time to be complacency with this disease.”
Premier Steven Marshall announced there would be no increase or reduction in restrictions in SA.
“I think the earliest we would see a reduction (in restrictions) is next week,” he said.
He said the situation in other parts of Australia showed that the nation was still in a perilous position.
NSW recorded 31 new locally acquired cases on Friday – including 13 people who were still active in the community – while Queensland recorded three local cases and its lockdown was extended for some areas.
Mr Marshall said he had written to the Prime Minister asking for a reduction in SA’s intake of overseas arrivals by 76 people.
He urged all eligible South Australians to get vaccinated.
“You know it’s a situation where we would like to see a minimum of 80 per cent of people in South Australia get that vaccination,” he said.
“I said right from day one I want to see every South Australian who’s eligible get that vaccination.
“We would like to see every single person who is eligible getting that vaccination. It’s safe, it’s effective. It’s not mandatory. It’s not mandatory. I want to emphasise that.”
The miner returned to Adelaide on a Virgin flight from Alice Springs on Saturday before testing positive for the virus, sparking the introduction of restrictions in SA.
More than 200 South Australians – including those who returned on Virgin flight VA1724 with the mine worker between 5.40pm and 6.30pm – have been placed into a 14 day quarantine.
SA authorities opted against a statewide lockdown, despite the emergence of the five cases on Wednesday and an AFL match between the Crows and Brisbane Lions, scheduled for Adelaide Oval on Saturday will go ahead with a reduced crowd of 25,000.
SA’s borders are currently closed to all states, except Victoria and Tasmania.
Wastewater tests detect Covid in Glenelg
Glenelg wastewater tested positive for Covid-19 last week, along with wastewater from city catchment areas that include medi-hotels – but SA Health is not alarmed.
The SA Health Covid-19 Wastewater Surveillance report for the week ending Friday June 25 suggests the Glenelg result represents an old infection, but there is no way of knowing for sure.
“Wastewater testing is unable to distinguish between active infections and resolved infections that do not present a risk of transmission,” the report stated.
“(The) fragments may also be from people who have recovered from Covid-19, as some people can shed non-infectious virus for several months.”
A spokeswoman said the Glenelg result was investigated and there was no cause for concern.
Glenelg also appeared as a hotspot location in SA Water‘s first complete survey of Adelaide’s wastewater in December. A short time later SA Health released a series of new Covid-19 health alert locations, after a male student of the Intensive English Language Institute at Flinders University tested positive.
SA Water completed the latest round of wastewater sampling on Thursday this week, but the report for the week ending Friday, July 2 will not be available until “about Wednesday” of next week.
SA Health and SA Water test wastewater in South Australia for fragments of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease Covid-19.
“Testing wastewater can help provide early warning of undiagnosed active cases in the community and target testing efforts,” the report stated.
In the week ending Friday 25 June 2021, 66 wastewater samples were tested for fragments of the virus.
The Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant takes wastewater from approximately 198,000 people. The positive samples were collected on Monday, June 21 and Tuesday, June 22.
Fragments of the virus were also found in the CBD catchment areas, but the report said that as this area included the state’s medi-hotels, they were most likely the source of the samples. s
However, SA Health emphasised that all South Australians should seek testing for Covid-19 if they experience even the mildest of symptoms: “Symptoms of Covid-19 may include fever or chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath, or loss of taste or smell.”