Despite record testing levels, no new COVID-19 cases have been detected overnight. It comes as the Parafield cluster drops to 22 cases, as the Police Commissioner defended the state's medi-hotels program.
This live blog for rolling COVID-19 coverage has now ended, but this report will be updated throughout the evening.
There were no new COVID-19 cases detected overnight, as the state enters the first of six days of full lockdown.
There are now 23 cases in the Parafield cluster, with 17 other suspected cases linked to it, SA chief health public officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said at a press conference this morning, but SA Health said this afternoon one case had been removed from the cluster after further testing.
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"We have 3200 close contacts in quarantine directly linked to the cluster and thousands of other South Australians on quarantine who have had tests," Prof Spurrier said.
She listed a series of locations across metro Adelaide that were of "real concern" and said people who had been at those spots during the alert times needed to get tested and quarantine.
"There are a number of venues where infectious cases have been over the last week or so and this is why we've done the pause to stop it in its tracks - so we can find as many of those people and have them quarantine ... this pause is giving us time to identify them, get them tested and have that 14-day quarantine period for all those people."
SA Health has particularly asked anyone who visited or got food - including delivery - from the Woodville Pizza Bar from Nov 6-16 to immediately quarantine, seek testing, wear a mask, and let testing staff know they were at the pizza bar. This includes members of the household.
The areas are:
Spotlight, 750 Main North Road Thursday 12 November 6.30 pm – 7.00 pm
Eblen Collision Repair, 240 Brighton Road Thursday 12 November 8.00 am – 4.30 pm, Friday 13 November 8.00 am – 4.30 pm
Funk Coffee, T15/200-220 Commercial Rd Saturday 14 November 5.00 pm – 5.15 pm
Woodville Pizza Bar, 58 Woodville Road (including people who got takeaway or delivery) – 6 to 16 November
Morphett Arms Hotel , 138 Morphett Road Friday 13 November 5.00 pm – 10.00 pm
Lyell McEwin Hospital Emergency Department – 5.30 pm 13 November to 8.00 am 14 November
Mint Leaf Lounge, 6/121-131 Mawson Lakes Boulevard Thursday 12 November 5.30 pm – 6.30 pm
Premier Steven Marshall thanked South Australians for their response to the lockdown and for presenting for testing.
“I want to say how proud I am to SA response to this,” Mr Marshall said. “I ask everybody to be patient, follow the restrictions that have been put in place and to stay positive."
SA Health conducted a record 11,813 tests yesterday, with 20,000 over the past 48 hours.
There are currently 34 active cases.
A testing blitz on South Australia's aged-care homes has uncovered some good news.
"To date across 111 aged-care facilities, all residents have been found to be negative and all staff on all facilities other than the initial contacts from the Parafield cluster have been negative," Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told The Advertiser.
– Claire Bickers
More than $250,000 worth of perishable stock and the livelihoods of 58 Adelaide Central Market traders is at risk after they were caught up in confusion over new lockdown rules.
The market management authority assumed it would be an essential service, as it was during the first lockdown from March.
But police officer shut it down this morning, as the lockdown rules came into force.
– Valerina Changarathil
Bit of confusion at the Adelaide markets this morning. Trade was going ahead as usual but management have just shut it down with security ushering customers out of the facility. Vendors are now frantically packing up stalls. @9NewsAdel pic.twitter.com/YYJ5e3HuhW
— Keziah Sullivan (@9keziahsullivan) November 18, 2020
The Parafield COVID cluster has dropped to 22 cases, after further testing today
This morning Prof Spurrier said it was 23 cases, with 17 suspected cases thought to be linked.
This afternoon SA Health removed one case from the cluster "following further laboratory investigations".
There are 34 active cases in SA, 22 from the Parafield cluster and 11 acquired overseas.
South Australian COVID-19 update 19/11/20. For more information go to https://t.co/e4B14lR2Vd or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/Tl7VDzdwla
— SA Health (@SAHealth) November 19, 2020
The Victoria Park drive-in testing clinic is a ghost town, compared with what it was in recent days. There are no queues , with a traffic controller saying people are coming in “dribs and drabs”.
“We has a rush when we opened but it’s calmed right down now,” he said.
The clinic opened at 8.30am and will stay open until midnight.
-Dixie Sulda
Not much at the Victoria Park covid testing site, apart from hot weather. Picture: Tricia Watkinson
Lines were significantly shorter at Port Adelaide’s Mundy St drive-in testing station this morning, with wait times around two hours.
Joel Castro took his three-year-old daughter Daniela to be tested because she had a sore throat.
Mr Castro, from Seaton, said they had waited about an hour and a half.
“It’s going quite quickly, and it’s better than being in a long line,” Mr Castro said.
Keith Roder was also in the line, having waited about an hour.
Mr Roder has relocated to SA from Victoria and arrived last night.
“I couldn’t believe the irony, you get here and look what’s happened,” Mr Roder said.
The field engineer’s work will put him up until he finds a home , and his family joins him from Victoria.
-Dixie Sulda
One of Australia’s largest underground mines has suffered a COVID-19 scare after an off-shift worker tested positive to the virus earlier this week.
Mining giant BHP has confirmed one of its Olympic Dam employees tested positive to COVID-19 off site.
– Emily Jarvis
The weather is causing trouble with COVID testing stations across Adelaide.
The Parafield and Hampstead Rehab Centre COVID testing sites were closed temporarily because of high winds. Parafield is now open again.
And the QEH clinic close at 4pm because of high heat.
SA Health has however, extended opening hours at the Victoria Park facility.
It will remain open 24/7 until midnight on Friday November 20.
SA Health has a list of other places to get tested here – not everyone requires a test.
If you're unsure if you require a test, go here to check.
If you have lost a job, work hours or faced a business shutdown, here are the financial support payments businesses and individuals can apply for during COVID-19.
This list includes available help, from JobSeeker to paid pandemic leave, and links to where you can find help.
Eerie pictures show the extent of the six-day lockdown across SA, as normally busy beaches and shopping malls are completely empty.
Despite the heat today – 36C – the beaches are void of people, and while shoppers would normally be getting ahead for Christmas, retail strips are silent.
Brighton Beach with barely a soul to be seen. Picture: Kelly Barnes
Victoria will slam shut its borders to South Australia from midnight for a 48-hour hard border closure despite SA recording zero cases today as it implements a six-day "circuit breaker" lockdown.
“Victorians have worked too hard and given too much to allow anything to put at risk our goal of reaching COVID Normal by Christmas," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
"We’ll do whatever it takes to keep Victorians safe.”
He added that border communities have had "an incredibly difficult year" and "we don’t take these decisions lightly".
"Our public health team will work closely with South Australia to monitor the outbreak and get the border back open as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
Victoria will introduce a permit system from midnight on Saturday November 21.
Under the hard border, only freight drivers and those with medical or emergency reasons, urgent animal welfare or as authorised by law will be able to pass through the border.
In a statement, the Victorian Government said fragments of the virus that causes coronavirus were detected in untreated wastewater taken from Portland and Benalla wastewater treatment plants on Tuesday, which was "unexpected and concerning given there are no residents of either area known to have had a recent coronavirus illness or diagnosis".
"Residents of Portland and Benalla and anyone who has visited between November 15 and 17 with any symptoms at all are being urged to get tested, and to isolate until they get their result.
SA already has a border closure to Victoria, which does not open until December 1.
– Claire Bickers
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett
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.
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.
