Tests show no link in Adelaide medi-hotel cases, as SA to push ahead with international student arrivals
Two Covid-19 cases from Adelaide’s Stamford medi-hotel are not linked, authorities have announced.
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Two Covid-19 cases from the Stamford medi-hotel are not linked, authorities have announced.
SA Health was on Wednesday investigating if a man, aged in his 40s, contracted Covid-19 inside his room on the top floor of the Stamford Plaza, on North Tce, earlier this month.
One theory was the virus spread within the hotel via “aerosol transmission”.
But the results of specialised genomic tests came out today and confirmed his case was not linked to another traveller, aged in his 20s.
Deputy chief public health officer Emily Kirkpatrick today said test results were able to confirm that the men had contracted separate strains of the virus – Alpha and Delta. Both men are currently in the Tom’s Court facility for infected travellers.
“I’m pleased to report those cases are not linked. So no risk at all for travellers at that hotel,” she said at a Covid press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Authorities had been concerned because if a link had been proved, it would have been the state’s third major medi-hotel breach.
A virus leak from the Playford Hotel, on North Tce, in May was caused by guests opening the doors to their rooms within seconds of each other. One guest then travelled to Melbourne, sparking a virus outbreak.
Dr Kirkpatrick also said there was therefore no risk to 14 other guests who served their mandatory fortnight quarantine in the Stamford Plaza at the same time as the latest incident. Of those, 10 have returned interstate.
Under state laws, all travellers must seek a Covid test three days after they leave their medi-hotel.
Another five Stamford guests, who were staying on the hotel’s 19th floor, had been ordered to remain in quarantine until the results were known. Dir Kirkpatrick said they were also clear.
Both sick men were in stable conditions on Wednesday night in the CBD’s Tom’s Court facility for Covid patients. The older traveller, who returned a positive day-13 Covid test on Tuesday, was staying in a room directly opposite the younger man.
Authorities initially diagnosed the younger man on July 5. They believed his was a historic case which likely emerged overseas, based on weak test results, risk assessments and background investigations.
Earlier, Dr Kirkpatrick said investigations had now revised this to an “active” case.
She said the source of the latest infection was “currently under investigation” but all official protocols had been followed.
“Whenever we have a new Covid-19 case we need to step through and undertake a risk assessment, undertake that thorough contact tracing process to see if there has been any risk at all, or any potential transmission within a medi-hotel,” she said.
“So, as part of that investigation, it was determined potentially that he may have been an active infection, rather than a historical infection.”
She said if a link was ruled out, it meant the older man had a relatively long incubation cycle.
“We know the medi-hotel program, which has now been in place for more than 15 months, has sustained us very well over the last period of time,” she said.
Last November a virus leak at the Peppers medi-hotel on Waymouth St sparked SA’s worst outbreak, the Parafield cluster.
Virus fear as foreign students SA-bound
by Claire Bickers, Andrew Hough
Foreign students could return to South Australia as soon as August, with Sydney’s Covid-19 crisis and the nation’s halved arrivals caps not halting plans.
Premier Steven Marshall has confirmed there will be no suspension to SA’s plans to bring current students back to Adelaide through a quarantine hub at a Parafield Airport-based flight school.
“I’m hoping that we can return some international students to South Australia next month, that would be a fantastic result,” Mr Marshall said on Wednesday.
“We know that the international student market is a very strong contributor to our economy; it creates thousands and thousands of jobs.”
The State Opposition has criticised student arrivals resuming at the same time Australia’s weekly international arrivals cap is slashed from 6070 to 3035 after a decision by national cabinet last week.
While acknowledging the $2bn international education sector’s importance to SA, Labor’s health spokesman Chris Picton said: “At the same time we are halving returning Australians because of the increased risk of Delta, why is this the right time to be bringing in international students?”
“South Australians deserve transparency on how many students will be arriving, will they all be vaccinated, and how many active cases there are in the countries they are coming from,” Mr Picton said.
He said it was “shocking” the state government was opening a quarantine facility for international students but would not establish one for returning Australians outside of medi-hotels.
SA and WA will both take just 265 arrivals per week until August 31, while NSW’s cap will drop to 1505 per week, Queensland will take 650 arrivals per week and Victoria will take 500 people.
The move, set to be reviewed in August, has made it more difficult for about 34,000 stranded Australians wanting to come home, with flight costs skyrocketing and many flights being cancelled.
Mr Marshall said it was challenging at the moment with Australia’s “very tough border status with the rest of the world” but the return of students was important.
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