Latest SA Covid updates for January 13: Four more deaths, 3669 new cases, school to return with ‘hybrid model’

The Premier says most school students will have to start term one learning from home, as he announced four more Covid-related deaths and 3669 new cases. Watch the briefing here.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is no longer being updated. Go here for SA Covid updates from Friday, January 14.

Four more South Australians infected with Covid have died, Premier Steven Marshall has announced. They were two men aged in their 80s, and two women aged in their 70s.

SA’s daily cases were down to 3669 from 3715 the day before.

There are 225 patients in hospital and 26 in intensive care, with seven people on a ventilator.

Mr Marshall said there were more than 20,000 tests on Wednesday, a near-record figure, and waiting times for a PCR test had reduced to 1-2 hours at most sites.

Rapid antigen test collection started at 7am and there is no record yet of how many have been dispensed but the number is in the thousands.

Mr Marshall also announced major education changes which will see most school students begin term one studying at home.

Schools would reopen on January 31 for children of essential workers and vulnerable children.

From February 2, face-to-face classes will begin for Reception students and those in Year 1, 7, 8 and 12. All other students will begin online learning on that day.

All students are expected to return to school for face-to-face learning on February 14. More details on the education plan will be announced on Friday.

Mr Marshall said term one would be “significantly disrupted” by the changes but the hybrid model was the best option given the rapid spread of Omicron and the fact many children have only just become eligible for the vaccine.

He said the hybrid model for schools was planned to allow for more vaccinations and reduce the number of cases in February.

“We know that we will be able to keep South Australia safe,” he said.

Mr Marshall also announced Plan 500 – a “decanting” of patients from the RAH, Lyell McEwin and Flinders Medical Centre to private hospitals to free up places for Covid patients – would begin today.

“We are not transferring Covid-positive patients into private hospitals, just other patients to free up 500 beds,” Mr Marshall said.

In reconfirming the state’s Covid cases would peak later this month, he said SA has “more than enough” vaccines and early teething problems were being ironed out.

He said people in residential aged care facilities would remain in lockdown to keep them safe, with the federal government committed to administering all boosters by the end of the month.

WATCH THE MEDIA BRIEFING

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■ SA Labor leader releases Covid ‘plan’ ... but won’t commit to implementing it
■ Just one RAT collection point for the entire state at launch
■ Latest interstate figures: 144k cases and 53 deaths in eastern states
■ Modelling shows how SA avoided ‘massive disaster’
■ Booster side effects: What to expect and when to call a doctor
■ Rapid antigen tests now first choice for close contacts
■ Booking sites to avoid – and those to use
■ Anti-vax hysteria fuelled by people who can’t do basic maths

NATIONAL CABINET EASES CONTACT RULES

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has updated the nation after national cabinet discussed changes to Covid-19 rules for schools, isolation rules for essential workers and the vaccine rollout.

Mr Morrison said the definition of close contact has been eased to ensure more workers can get back to their day jobs and ease national supply shortages.

“To further ease the pressure on supply chains, we extended the easing of restrictions for close contacts,” he said.

“That is the one which enable someone who may be a close contact and get a negative rapid antigen test ... they can go straight back to work. The most immediate extension to that is to all transport, freight and logistics employees,” he said.

He said restrictions could not have been loosened in the critical workforce until now because the severity of the Omicron strain was not known.

“Once we became aware that the severity was less, that has enabled us to move,” he said.

On Thursday there were about 144,000 new cases in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with 53 deaths.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 12 UPDATE

SA has recorded seven new deaths linked to Covid-19, the state’s largest single-day death toll since the pandemic began, although not all the deaths occurred in the past 24 hours.

Six of the deceased patients were women, ranging in age from 60 to 100. The other was a man aged in his 90s.

There were 3715 new cases announced on Wednesday.

Despite a reduction of Covid patients in hospital from 211 to 190, the number in intensive care has risen to 27, with six requiring a ventilator. The majority of patients in ICU are unvaccinated, despite that cohort comprising just 10 per cent of the population.

Amid controversy around the rapid antigen test rollout starting with just one pick-up point for the entire state, Premier Steven Marshall said it would be mandatory for a positive RAT result to be reported to SA Health.

The first RAT collection site will open on Thursday in the south parklands with about 13,000 tests available for close contacts of confirmed cases. It will operate from 7am-9pm.

There is no capacity to make appointments and the Premier predicted “teething problems”, but said SA Health hoped to learn from the initial rollout and expand the program to around a dozen sites in total.

If you are a close contact, from Thursday you will need to take a rapid antigen test – or isolate if you are unable to obtain a test.

The process for close contacts will be to go to the SA Health website, disclose how many people in your household are also close contacts, receive a receipt and then use that receipt to pick up the RATs from the collection site.

If you have symptoms, a PCR test is preferred but asymptomatic patients can get two free RATs to be used on days 1 and 6.

There were just under 20,000 tests conducted on Tuesday. Waiting times blew out in the heatwave but Mr Marshall was hopeful the situation would improve on Thursday.

Covid-negative patients in the public system are now being transferred to private hospitals and 300 beds in RAH, 100 in Lyell McEwin and 100 in Flinders Medical Centre are allocated for Covid patients.

Mr Marshall said work was under way to distribute extra paediatric doses of the vaccine to GPs, amid frustration at supply shortages.

SA Health staff now has 524 staff who have tested positive and 892 who cannot go to work because they are isolating.

Education authorities are on track to finalise a decision by the end of the week on whether face-to-face learning will resume in schools as scheduled.

How to register your positive RAT result

Most states now provide an online form where you can register a positive Rapid Antigen Test result.

In some states, registration for positive for Rapid Antigen Test is complulsory. You will need to register the result or face a fine.

Here’s how to do it in the states where it is available.

• Register in Victoria

• Register in New South Wales

• Register in Queensland

• Register in South Australia

• Register in Northern Territory

• Register in Tasmania

 

ONE PICK-UP POINT FOR RAPID TESTS

There will be just one collection point for rapid antigen tests (RATs) when the new system for use by close contacts starts on Thursday.

The distribution point will be in the south parklands, raising issues of access for close contacts in country areas as well as those in Adelaide with limited transport options who live a long way from the city.

From Thursday, close contacts will be able to pick up two free RATs for use at home rather than lining up for the more reliable PCR tests.

However, with just one collection site, it appears the new system is destined to start with queues.

Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said more collection points will be rolled out in coming days.

Read more here

TUESDAY JANUARY 11 UPDATE

SA has recorded a huge drop in new Covid cases, down more than 1100 on Tuesday to 2921, as Premier Steven Marshall said the Omicron peak would be “short and sharp”.

Tragically, one more person has died – a woman in her 50s – while the number of people in hospital has risen by 23 to 211, and 22 people are in intensive care, Mr Marshall said, with four on a ventilator.

Delivering the daily Covid update from isolation, Mr Marshall said SA had “avoided massive disaster” by introducing restrictions on December 26.

He said cases were “stabilising” but increases could be expected before SA hit the Omicron peak, which is expected in late January.

Mr Marshall said an updated hospital plan would be released in the next 24 to 48 hours, but promised about 500 extra ward beds and 60 dedicated ICU beds, to be ready by the peak of the outbreak “which is not far off”.

There were 18,433 Covid tests on Monday, while a booster-only vaccination centre at Mile End opens on Wednesday. About 700 self-reported rapid tests were sent to SA Health.

Nearly 500 SA Health staff are on furlough and about 40 ambulance officers are Covid-positive.

From this Thursday, close contacts can register with SA Health and then choose a testing site from which they can pick up their two free rapid tests.

Mr Marshall said he hoped for more concrete news on the first day back at school, hopefully by Friday.