Covid cases jump by 600 in a week, ramping also on the rise in SA

SA has experienced a sharp jump in Covid cases, with numbers almost doubling in a fortnight, as the state’s ramping crisis continues.

Covid cases are soaring with numbers doubling in a fortnight.

Cases notified to SA Health hit 1691 in the past week, up from 1089 the previous week and almost double the 862 cases just two weeks ago.

For the week to Tuesday October 24, SA Health had reported 62 patients in hospital instead of the correct number, 25. The cause of the mistake is still being investigated.

The past week there were 36 people in hospital with Covid.

South Australia has recorded 939,051 cases since the pandemic began and 1624 deaths of people with Covid.

The surge comes as hours lost to ramping also rose, to hit 3322 hours in October – worse than any month under the former Liberal Government – up from 3290 hours the previous month and compared to the peak of 3968 hours in March.

Health Minister Chris Picton noted ambulance response times have improved since October last year – Priority 1 calls were responded to within the recommended eight minutes 61.3 per cent of the time, compared to 51.6 per cent in October 2022, while 58.8 per cent of Priority 2 calls arrived within the recommended 16 minutes, compared to 47.3 per cent 12 months ago.

Meanwhile the second of five Medicare Urgent Care Centres in South Australia funded by the Federal Government providing bulk billed walk-in care for patients will open at Marion on Monday following the Elizabeth Medicare UCC opening last month.