Tougher restrictions in place for SA despite cases remaining at 17

The COVID-19 cluster in South Australia remains at 17 cases as of Monday afternoon.

South Australians are being urged to work from home where possible and to wear a mask, despite its recent spike in COVID-19 cases remaining at 17 on Monday afternoon.

SA’s cluster, which was first announced on Sunday, had spiked to 17 cases as of Monday morning but Premier Steven Marshall announced the number had not increased for the day.

He announced that tougher restrictions as a result and said they would come into effect as of midnight on Monday.

The outbreak at Parafield in Adelaide’s northern suburbs was revealed after a woman in her 80s was diagnosed after attending Adelaide Lyell McEwin Hospital emergency department.

Two of the woman’s family members, a female in her 50s and a man in his 60s, also tested positive for the deadly virus with four other family members displaying symptoms.

The large family has members working in high-risk medi-hotels, aged care, health care and a major prison.

Prof Nicola Spurrier said the new cases were “very troubling”. Pic: Russell Millard

SA Health’s Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier told FIVEaa radio of the 17 cases that were announced on Monday morning, 15 are family members of the initially-diagnosed case while the other two are linked to the cluster.

Two of the 17 cases have been taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital because of their age while the rest are quarantining in hotel facilities.

Professor Spurrier said it was “very clear” the cluster was connected to the CBD medi-hotel.

“We haven’t got the genomics yet, but I’m absolutely certain it has come from a medi-hotel,” she said.

“We will be putting together a more comprehensive list of the areas we’re concerned about … but if anybody even has the most mildest of symptoms, you must get tested the day of those symptoms.”

A Hungry Jack’s restaurant at Port Adelaide, the Mawson Lakes primary and preschool, Thomas More College at Salisbury Downs, Parafield Plaza supermarket and the Anglicare aged care facility in Brompton have now closed.

The Health Department has asked anyone who visited one of the 13 listed locations to monitor for symptoms and immediately get tested if they present. Picture: Brenton Edwards

AnglicareSA CEO Peter Sandeman said SA Health was assisting the aged care facility in testing all staff and residents and the Communicable Disease Branch was also working closely to assess the risk.

He said all 40 residents at the facility had been tested on Monday morning and the results are expected to return either later in the afternoon or on Tuesday.

There are also 56 staff who are progressively being tested, either as they come on shift or as they arrange thier own tests.

“The two staff members concerned worked night shift on Thursday night, and the other worked Friday morning and were diagnosed late yesterday,” Mr Sandeman said.

“It’s still being determined which staff members are considered close contacts or any residents that will be required to self isolate and we’ll be advised of that by SA Health.

“We’ve locked down the facility so the residents are unable to leave and no visitors can be admitted and we expect that to continue until we’re advised otherwise.”

3.6.2018.We are taking to Anglicare about strong business confidence results. CEO Peter Sandeman at Anglicare head office in Adelaide. PIC TAIT SCHMAAL.

It comes as the Northern Territory and Tasmania announced on Monday they have closed their borders to the state.

SA residents who wish to enter those jurisdictions will now need to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also offered to make the army available to SA.

Prior to the border changes being announced, Premier Steven Marshall said other Australian jurisdictions needed to make their own decisions if they wanted to close their borders to SA.

“They need to make their own decision with regards to that (data that is shared from the state) but what they will get from SA is very transparent information provided to them as quickly as we possibly can so they can make their decisions,” he told ABC Radio.

“I’ve spoken with the Prime Minister the morning and we are looking at the flow of aircraft with those Australians coming back over the next couple of days because it’s possible we will need to take more of our hotel quarantine capacity to cope with this cluster so we won‘t be able to dedicate as many of those rooms to people coming from overseas.

“The ABF understand that but we‘re working through those issues at the moment.”

Premier Steven Marshall said fights to repatriate Australians may need to be redirected as a result of the cluster. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

He said there had been “extremely high levels” of cooperation from everyone that SA Health contact tracers have contacted so far.

“We need to do everything we possibly can to get on top of this within the next 24-48 hours.”

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said it was “completely understandable” that other jurisdictions were closely watching the state to see how it responded to the outbreak.

He told ABC Radio on Monday morning that SA authorities would do as much as they could to give people advanced notice of a change of restrictions — if necessary — in order to prepare.

“We’re trying to lock this cluster down,” he said.

“Unfortunately, depending on how significant this spread is, we could be talking about quite wide restrictions we saw back in March-April but that's worst case scenario and it’s not a decision we have to make right now but we do need to think about what the possibilities are.

“The possibility of an infection spreading from a medi-hotel has always been there and with the more people that come in with the infection, the greater the risk.”

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said he had received advice that SA’s contact tracing system was strong.

“We are standing up the National Incident Centre contact tracing capability to assist SA,” he told ABC Breakfast.

“If South Australia requires the Australian Defence Force, then the Prime Minister has offered to make them available.

“If more is required, more will be provided.”

The West Australian government is now requiring all visitors from SA to quarantine for 14 days after opening its border on Saturday.

However, Mr Hunt said there was no advice from Australia’s acting Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, that any state and territory should not to be open to another at this time.

Senior SA Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham said WA made the call a “little bit early”.

“What we need to do is make sure that SA’s response is comprehensive in terms of how quickly they move to isolate people and to date we do know they have isolated large numbers of people,” Senator Birmingham told Today.

“I’m certain there will be, yes, more cases and more isolations to come but that doesn’t mean it spirals out of control like Victoria.

“We want a NSW-type response here where it is absolutely isolated and quarantined as quickly as possible.”

For more information, contact the SA Health COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787, or go to their website.

Originally published as Tougher restrictions in place for SA despite cases remaining at 17