Covid SA: 80 new cases as nightclubs, bars close doors

SA Health has reported 80 new Covid cases in SA, as multiple nightclubs and bars in the Hindley St area shut their doors.

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There have been 80 new cases of Covid reported in SA on Sunday – bringing the total number to 1296 so far.

Sunday’s 80 new cases are 13 children, five teenagers, 37 women aged between 18 and 73, and 25 men aged between 18 and 59.

Of these, 33 acquired their infections in South Australia and are known contacts of a positive case, five from interstate, and 42 cases are under investigation.

There are now four patients in hospital, up from two yesterday. None of the patients is in ICU.

The new cases came to light as 16,879 tests were carried out on Saturday. Almost 250 people are in home quarantine, while a further 64 are in supervised quarantine. SA Health have identified 1870 close contacts of positive cases.

Since SA’s borders opened on November 23 there have been 374 new cases.

The number of Omicron cases in SA remains at eight, while the number of cases in the Norwood cluster remains steady at 40 cases.

SA Health is yet to provide an updated list of exposure locations.

It emerged on Sunday that a positive Covid case was among a member of the English media.

SA Health said its investigations at this stage showed that no Covid positive member of the community had attended the cricket at this time. “We are aware a member of the media has tested positive and we are working with Adelaide Oval to identify any close contacts in relation to this case,” a statement said.

Nurses administering Covid tests at Bedford Park. Picture: Matt Loxton

“We encourage anyone who has been out in the community to monitor closely for symptoms and get tested as soon as soon as they appear.”

And in other Covid-related news, a SA Health spokeswoman has confirmed none of the residents at 22 of the state’s residential aged care facilities that were potentially exposed to Covid-19 by two medicos last week have returned positive test results.

It comes after news a former private schoolboy partied at a popular Adelaide nightclub for hours after being told he was a Covid-19 case, amid fears of an outbreak involving several city bars.

On another day of record cases, at least six clubs and bars in the Hindley St and Peel St area closed and asked patrons to leave late on Saturday night.

The scare emerged after SA Health notified a sick teenager, 19, at 10.18pm on Friday of a positive result.

But witnesses claim the teenager, who attended one of Adelaide’s elite private schools, then partied at popular Hindley St nightclub Loverboy for several hours after ignoring mandatory quarantine orders.

They say the teenager shared a picture of his result an hour later before leaving with a female reveller. He has since apologised.

SA Health on Saturday named the nightclub as among 166 exposure sites, most of which are in the CBD and across eastern and northern suburbs.

Vaccinated club patrons and staff at Loverboy between 10.45pm on Friday and 4.15am on Saturday must quarantine for a week, compared to 14 days for the unvaccinated.

While no other clubs had been listed as formal SA Health exposure sites by midnight on Saturday, bar workers said they were shutting over concerns of “an outbreak in the West End”.

Night­clubbers are among 4210 people now in isolation. Any close contact who visited an exposure site from Saturday will be forced into quarantine for Christmas. The teen was among a record 73 cases identified on Saturday.

A police spokeswoman said officers were working with SA Health to ensure the teen “is appropriately quarantined to protect the wider community”.

She said if any emergency direction breach had occurred, “the circumstances will be investigated”.

Meanwhile, a Covid-19 patient spent at least 90 minutes in an ambulance waiting to be assessed at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, it has been revealed. Another three were also ramped for an hour.

The Ambulance Employees Association claimed paramedics were forced to treat patients outside in the heat.

The union’s general secretary, Leah Watkins, said the system was “under-resourced and unprepared”.

Labor health spokesman Chris Picton added: “We’ve seen gross negligence on display as the ramping crisis has become a Covid-ramping crisis.”

Hindley Street,. Picture: Dean Martin

Acting Health Minister Rob Lucas said bed capacity had been boosted to cut ramping.

“What occurred shouldn’t have happened and was the result of a procedural breakdown,” he said.

Among Saturday’s new cases are 11 children too young to be vaccinated and an aged-care worker at Anglicare’s Elizabeth East home, which was locked down. Contact tracers are investigating 37 mysterious cases a day after 64 patients emerged.

Of 233 active cases, 54 are in home quarantine, most of whom are in the CBD and Salisbury, Port Adelaide Enfield and Charles Sturt council areas.

Almost two dozen James Nash House staff are isolating, while 200 students who live in accommodation next to Modbury Hospital are now in a medi-hotel after a positive case.

Testing sites continue to be overwhelmed with wait times of up to six hours.