Relief as one of South Australia’s latest COVID-19 cases tests negative, leaving the state with nine active cases
The state’s chief public health officer says one of Tuesday’s fresh COVID-19 cases has been double-checked and found to be negative, with authorities “absolutely sure” the young woman is not infected – easing fears of community transmission.
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One of South Australia’s latest COVID-19 cases has been overturned after it was found a woman with no links to Victoria falsely tested positive for the infection.
Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier confirmed the “good news” on Wednesday morning and said authorities were “absolutely sure” the woman, in her 20s, is negative.
“My team spent all of (Tuesday) trying to work out what was going on and we couldn’t find a cause,” she told FIVEaa radio.
“We couldn’t find a link with anyone from Victoria.
“But (that test) was done in a private laboratory and it was a definite positive, but because we couldn’t find a link we’ve gone back and we’ve retested it with SA Pathology. We have now confirmed it is negative.”
Community transmission relating to that woman is now no longer a concern.
That means SA Health officials are solely focused on a cluster patient – another woman also in her 20s – who visited several businesses and two Adelaide schools while infectious.
On Tuesday, Prof Spurrier said SA faced a “pivotal day” as cases started to “mount up”.
South Australians were warned to brace themselves for more restrictions as Premier Steven Marshall expressed his concern about potential COVID-19 “seeding”.
Mr Marshall, who visited Mt Gambier on Tuesday, said the past month’s “very low level restrictions” was “just not plausible for the next couple weeks”.
“It is now crucial for us to increase our restrictions commensurate with the increase of risk that we are seeing with Victoria,” he said.
“I am as worried about the disease now as I was two months ago.”
Detectives are now investigating any possible wrongdoing by the cluster patients.
Alerts were issued for locations visited by the new female cluster patient in the past week including a Salisbury Downs gym, Blair Athol juice bar and a Kilburn Persian rug business.
Owners of all three businesses, including juice bar owner Zakir Rahimi, 24, of Enfield, said he was worried for his staff and customers. “It’s not good – the sick people should stay at home,” he said.
Anyone who visited at relevant times must immediately self-isolate for 14 days, from the day they attended, and seek urgent testing even if asymptomatic. Another alert has been for Thebarton Senior and Roma Mitchell Secondary Colleges after a mature aged student, in her 20s, attended while sick.
Thebarton Senior, Torrensville is closed on Wednesday due to contact tracing but Roma Mitchell, Gepps Cross will reopen. One of Tuesday’s new patients is a friend of the student, who is also close to the cluster’s first case, a Blair Athol man aged in his early 20s.
The man, an essential worker, returned from Victoria on July 26.
SA Health issued a third alert on Tuesday for the Walkers Arms Hotel, where the man stayed for three days because he could not return to his share home. The hotel said it followed all rules and had “gone above and beyond” to maintain safety and cleaning.
The cluster, which also includes a man in his 50s, is the state’s fifth such grouping of cases and the first since March.
A police spokeswoman said: “No action has been taken against these individuals at this time, however (SA Police) are liaising with Health to gather further information.”
All are in mandatory quarantine at the CBD’s Pullman Hotel, Hindmarsh Square.
There have been 457 SA cases, 14 of which have been found over the past fortnight.
There are fears fresh cases will be revealed on Wednesday after more expatriates arrived in Adelaide and were placed in quarantine at the Pullman and Peppers Hotel, Waymouth Street. A further 80 “close contacts” are in quarantine.
Last night a Somerton Park vintage shop closed after a visitor tested positive and a major weekend duathlon was cancelled. The RSL closed its city Torrens Parade Ground headquarters after a worker was found to be a contact of a weekend COVID sufferer.
SA LIMITS REPATRIATIONS
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens says SAPOL currently has 22 per cent of its operational strength deployed to COVID duties.
He warned that potential changes such as ordering all arrivals from Victoria into mandatory hotel quarantine would further stretch this. However, SAPOL has options including asking the Australian Defence Force for assistance.
ADELAIDE’S PEPPERS HOTEL A QUARANTINE SITE
Another CBD Hotel has been turned into a “medi-hotel” where new arrivals will spend their quarantine.
That makes three quarantine hotels now in Adelaide’s CBD.
On Tuesday police blocked off Bentham St, off Waymouth St, as bus loads of people, who recently arrived via Adelaide Airport, were unloaded.
Decked out in protective gear, police and SA Health secured the street as the new arrivals entered the hotel.
NEW TESTING STATIONS
The SA Government has also announced a further ramping up of testing facilities in response to increased demand for the service. A new drive-through facility opened in Victoria Park on Wednesday, and new heavy vehicle testing facilities will be set up in Port Augusta and Tailem Bend.
Mr Wade said he was “very thankful to the people of South Australia for accepting the call to get tested”.
“Obviously that is putting pressure on our capacity, and I thank people for their patience – people appreciate that this is a real challenge for our state,” he said.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to the SA Pathology staff who, despite this increased demand, continue to get the tests turned around in 24 hours.”
SATELLITE CONTROL CENTRE IN MOUNT GAMBIER
The State Government is working on setting up a satellite control centre and medi-hotel in Mount Gambier to help strengthen South Australia’s border effort.
The Premier Steven Marshall made the announcement this morning while visiting the SA-Victoria border checkpoint on Princes Highway near Mount Gambier.
“These are important improvements that we are making to strengthen the frontline for the men and women who are working here to keep South Australia safe and strong,” he said.
Mr Stevens said the new satellite command centre would strengthen the state’s ability to provide a co-ordinated effort across all of border checkpoints.
“It is difficult work that is necessary in these current circumstances, and it gives us the ability to operate more closely and in a more co-ordinated way with health staff, the ADF and police,” he said.
“We have seen time and time again in the last few days many people trying to get across the border without appropriate authorisation and we’re taking action.”
NEW RESTRICTIONS KICK IN
From 12am Wednesday, people allowed at home gatherings will be capped at 10, down from a 50, and patrons can only drink alcohol in licensed premises while seated.
Mr Marshall said authorities were “looking very closely” at more crackdowns, as testing clinics faced long delays and the two Adelaide schools were “deep cleaned” after an adult student attended while infectious.
Mr Marshall, who has flown to the state’s South-East, said authorities were investigating reducing “density” in bars, clubs and restaurants from one patron per 2sq m, as well as slashing AFL crowds by half to 10,000 fans.
Mr Stevens indicated that police will also be out in force checking that businesses are complying with the Covid-safe regulations. “Obviously this is a quieter period of the week for us and we ramp up our resources as we get into the later part of the week.”
MONDAY’S NEW CASES
Prof Spurrier said Monday’s patients, two men aged in their 50s had respiratory symptoms and one man was now part of a fresh cluster.
That patient, from Adelaide’s north, is linked to a man, aged in his 20s, who returned from Victoria last week and a woman, also in her 20s, who attended Thebarton Senior and Roma Mitchell Secondary colleges while sick.
Both schools remain closed as authorities urged any ill or concerned person from either community to be tested.