Premier tries to clarify Covid close contacts confusion after condemnation by peak industry bodies

The Premier has sought to clarify SA’s guidelines for close contacts after an apparent deviation from the national cabinet’s rules sparked confusion – but questions still remain.

Premier Steven Marshall has tried to clear up confusion about the definition of close contacts after an apparent deviation from the national cabinet’s rules on Friday morning sparked condemnation.

“We’re at a different phase – in SA you’re a close contact if you’re a household or intimate partner or it’s a vulnerable cohort – such as aged care, or an indigenous community, or an identified transmission site,” Steven Marshall said in a press conference.

Earlier on Friday SA’s chief public health officer said anyone who comes into contact with a positive case for more than 15 minutes is classed as a close contact, in contradiction of new national rules.

Mr Marshall called Prof Spurrier’s 15 minutes statement a “guideline” for “likely transmission. “We are not in a position to make a direction they are a close contact (if it’s 15 minutes).

“It’s not as simple as 15 mins or not - that’s why it’s so important people monitor their symptoms.”

Following a national cabinet meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison defined a close contact as anyone living with a confirmed Covid case, or an intimate partner of a confirmed case, would be consider close contacts.

He said the revised rules meant only people who share a home or accommodation and have spent at least four hours with the positive case would be forced into isolation.

But Professor Nicola Spurrier told ABC Radio Adelaide on Friday morning the announcement was essentially not relevant in SA – a decision has been slammed as “inconsistent and confusing” by two of the state’s peak industry bodies.

“I guess here in South Australia, we’ve got our own way of doing our contact tracing,” Prof Spurrier said.

Chief public health officer for SA Health is Professor Nicola Spurrier during a press conference. Picture: Emma Brasier

“Definitely as the Prime Minister flagged its household contacts, and we’ve just extended that to household-like contacts because there are many people that actually have quite a close knit social circle.”

Most close contacts will receive an SMS from SA Health. However, if you know you are a close contact, please do not wait for the SMS – get tested and isolate immediately. pic.twitter.com/VHx9n9P6I9

— SA Health (@SAHealth) December 30, 2021

Mr Marshall denied it was a deviation from national cabinet guidelines, saying SA was not using the four-hour rule as agreed upon by most of the rest of the nation.

He denied he and Prof Spurrier were not on the same page and said they were “100 per cent” in agreement.

She proceeded to say anyone who was in close contact with a positive case for more than 15 minutes would be classed as a close contact, and required to isolate for a week.

“It has to be complicated because it is clinical public health decision making here, but what the general premise is here is that we are not worrying about a stranger you might have had transient contact with, or brief contact with,” Prof Spurrier said.

“We’re basically trying to focus on people’s social groups so that's your households, household like contacts or intimate partners.

“Beyond that it might be the group you are at work with a lot of the time, and then were also looking at transmission sites, so if we see a lot of places with multiple cases from a particular venue or a particular setting, whether that's a church or a pub, or the like, then that will be called out for close contacts, and then of course we’ve got our vulnerable settings.”

Prof Spurrier said it would be up to infectious community members to let people know if they were classed as their close contacts.

“It’s not going to be possible for SA Health in my contact tracing team to contact all close contacts, and so what we are going to be doing is having more information … in coming days we’ll be having a much more simple matrix,” she said.

When asked about the rule that states someone must be in contact with a positive case for four hours to be a classed as a close contact, Prof Spurrier said that was not applicable in SA.

“That wasn’t something that we had agreed at AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principal Committee), it’s not in the document that certainly I was involved with, but you know I’m not at national cabinet,” she said.

South Australians with Covid also have to isolate for 10 days, provided they no longer have symptoms, which is different to national rules which require only seven days’ isolation.

Following the national cabinet meeting, Premier Steven Marshall said on Thursday said the relaxed definition of a close contact “may be flexible depending on the circumstances”, for example in an aged care setting.

Those deemed close contacts before Friday will still have to complete their isolation period.

Close contacts must still isolate for seven days if they are vaccinated and 14 days if they are unvaccinated.

They will need to produce a negative PCR test before leaving their isolation on day one and six and isolate again if symptoms develop.

However, severe heat has forced the closure of multiple testing sites across SA on Friday and Saturday. Metropolitan sites at Elizabeth South, Hampstead, the Repat, Port Adelaide, Aldinga, and the RAH will open from 6.30am until 10.30am, and then reopen from 5.30pm until either 8.30pm or 10.30pm.

Business SA and the Australian Hotels Association released a joint statement on Friday morning describing SA Health’s backflip as “unacceptable”.

Business SA Chair Nikki Govan said business owners were struggling to make sense of the confusing rules.

“When the Premier comes out yesterday following national cabinet and announces the new four-hour definition of a close contact, the last thing you expect is that an unelected official can change that and then announce it in a radio interview,” she said.

“We have business owners trying to work out what is going on. They are trying to do their best under challenging restrictions, so another change makes this problematic for business owners and employees.”

Australian Hotels Association SA chief executive Ian Horne said the “complete backflip” was disappointing for SA’s hospitality industry.

“Yesterday’s national cabinet decision was sensible. It was consistent. And it gave hotels, pubs and clubs some reassurance that less of their staff would be sent into isolation having just been at work with a Covid case entering,” he said.

“Disappointingly, it seems like our COVID-19 plan is being created during radio interviews now, and not by the Premier of South Australia.”