Nightclub demands justice over ‘selfish’ act of clubber, as Spurrier says he should not have been out

Health authorities have growing concerns about a teenager who tested positive to Covid-19 but continued clubbing in the city, as the nightclub involved vows to seek justice.

A popular city nightclub says it “will be seeking justice” after a former private schoolboy continued partying at the venue for hours after receiving a positive test result.

Hindley St nightspot Loverboy issued a statement on Sunday, after the teenager allegedly entered the venue and stayed for the duration of the night, putting 150 patrons, staff and their families at risk.

It comes as chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said there are “lots of reasons” the teenager should not have been out.

“I don’t know the reason for him having a test in the first place … obviously if you've got symptoms regardless of whether you've been tested or not you shouldn't be out and about in the community,” Prof Spurrier said on ABC radio Adelaide on Monday.

“If you’re a close contact of somebody you should be in quarantine and that would be another reason for being tested. So there’s lots of reasons this young person should’ve been staying away, and certainly when you get a text message to say you’re positive it’s important that we all heed that, and we make the provision to isolate as soon as possible and we don’t spread our germs around,” she said.

Loverboy on Hindley St in Adelaide. Picture: Matt Loxton

In its statement, Loverboy said: “Someone knowingly entering somewhere with a positive result should be considered an offence and we will be seeking justice.”

“Our business is no stranger to being closed, we’ve had to do it a lot over the past two years but now because of this we have to close our doors for the busiest week of the year and the majority of our staff and patrons will be opening presents in isolation.

“Christmas is supposed to be a time to celebrate with family and loved ones, however, because of the actions of one selfish person, that won’t be the case for many.”

The venue was also concerned they had not been contacted by SA Health about the case, except for when they approached the state government agency.

Prof Spurrier said it has been confirmed the teen did not attend the cricket at Adelaide Oval, as it was first feared.

“Our team have gone back to the Adelaide Oval and it doesn't appear that he's activated his ticket so that’s quite reassuring,” she said.

SA Health notified the teenager shortly after 10pm on Friday. He has since been transported to a medi-hotel.

“There are people that we are concerned about them that may not be isolating as we need them to be, and we have that ability to have them in a medi-hotel and that’s what we’ve done,” Prof Spurrier said.

Despite his positive test result, witnesses said the teenager continued to party for several hours, ignoring mandatory quarantine orders.

The nightclub has been declared a close contact exposure site between 10.45pm on Friday, December 17, and 4.15am on Saturday, December 18. SA Police are investigating if he breached the state’s Emergency Management Act.

Clubs and bars in and around Hindley St. Picture Dean Martin

Covid coordinator and police commissioner Grant Stevens said police had launched an investigation into the teen’s movements. He said the young man faced a $1000 fine for breaching the Emergency Management Act, or a $20,000 fine should the matter be heard before the court, pending the investigation’s results.

Premier Steven Marshall called teenager’s actions “very regrettable”.

“I think it’s a strong message to all South Australians that if you get a direction you follow it.”

The teenager has since issued an apology.

In response to multiple messages targeting him on the SA Health Facebook page, he asked those commenting to “just stop”.

“I reckon we just drop it,” he said. “I have admitted to my mistakes and am truly apologetic.”

An 18-year-old patron at the Loverboy nightclub, who asked not to be named, said he spoke briefly with the teenager at the venue about midnight but was not aware about the positive result until he was alerted by others the following day.

“He seemed really happy, and just joyous,” the patron said.

He said the teenager was irresponsible for putting a number of people at risk, including a female he was seen kissing.

The patron, who is awaiting a test result, said he was “fuming” because he would miss three shifts at work and would spend Christmas in isolation.

“It was just so avoidable, and so irresponsible of him,” he said.

He said the teenager “should be doing a whole lot more” to right the situation, including compensating those affected.

Multiple venues on Peel St and Hindley St closed their doors earlier than expected on Saturday night. But there is no suggestion that their closure is linked to the 19-year-old.

It comes as 80 news cases were reported in SA on Sunday, while there was separate scare involving two members of the English broadcast media who have tested positive for the virus.

Adelaide West End Association spokesman Andrew Wallace said rumours around a positive case in the area had caused multiple venues to close their doors earlier than usual on Saturday night to protect their staff and patrons.

“It demonstrates pretty clearly that everyone has a responsibility to make sure that they follow the instructions,” he said.

He said Saturday night was “eerily quiet”, and many cricket patrons had been unable to find open venues in the city.

He said some business owners were frustrated at the “seemingly slow” speed information about close contacts was being distributed.

Peel St venue La Moka was among the businesses that chose to close early on Saturday on hearing rumours of a positive Covid-19 case.

A post from Cry Baby bar to say it will be closed until Boxing Day.

Owner Manuel Francesconi said the venue had closed its doors by 10pm – about four hours earlier than normal. He said while the venue did not have any positive cases, it wanted to take a cautious approach to protect its staff and patrons.

“We heard there were rumours that there were people that were positive,” he said.

“Most venues did the same. The number one thing is the safety of everyone.”

He said the venue would consider whether to close or take on onerous precautions to continue operating.

But Alfred’s Bar on Peel Street remained open for business on Sunday from 3pm until midnight.

Bartender Joshua Dfsa said he was told to work unless there was an SA Health directive to close.

“We’re definitely expecting to get quite a few people through from the cricket,” he said.

“But we’re pretty tight and restricted on capacity, which happens everywhere, I think everyone has been pretty good with that.”

Meanwhile, Cry Baby Bar on Solomon St, Adelaide, which was listed as a close contact site between 10.45pm on December 13 and 1.15am the next morning, has decided to close until Boxing Day “as a precautionary measure” amid “growing public concern”.

It is not know what exactly led to the closure but a Facebook post from the bar said it was done “out of an abundance of concern for the safety of our staff and patrons”.