Mount Gambier car fire believed to be linked to Covid-positive woman
A car believed to belong to a Mt Gambier mother who tested positive for Covid-19 has been destroyed in what police describe as a “targeted attack”.
Police & Courts
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Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has pleaded for tolerance in the wake of an arson attack suspected of targeting a mother who has tested positive for Covid-19.
The fire at Mount Gambier broke out just before 10pm on Tuesday, when a Holden sedan was set alight.
Flames threatened a house, which was unoccupied at the time, before Metropolitan Fire Service crews were able to contain the blaze.
The car was destroyed, while the house sustained only surface damage.
Mr Stevens – who is South Australia’s Covid-19 co-ordinator – said he understood the car belonged to a Mount Gambier mother of four who contracted the disease.
She is currently in an Adelaide medi-hotel after returning from Victoria last Friday and telling authorities she had visited Casterton, which was within the 70km border bubble at the time.
However, an internal memo from a regional Victorian hospital has raised questions over where the woman caught Covid-19, suggesting she travelled to Melbourne and may have picked up the virus there.
Stringent restrictions have been enforced for the Mount Gambier area as authorities determine her exact movements. Numerous exposure sites have been listed and the border bubble reduced to 30km, leaving businesses counting the cost and residents questioning why they must endure limitations.
Mr Stevens said the arsonists had “committed a serious crime and if we do detect them we’ll be dealing with them appropriately”.
“People shouldn’t assume that they know what’s going on – it’s completely unnecessary, it’s unwarranted,” he said.
“I’m asking people to show tolerance. Let us get to the bottom of this and we’ll provide that information to the public as soon as possible.”
Mr Stevens said SA Health contact tracers were working with the family of the woman to establish her movements while infectious.
“As soon as we have clear information on those movements and we can provide them to the community, we will,” he said.
“It will factor into our decision-making in relation to current restrictions.”
An SA Health spokeswoman refused to outline where it is believed the woman had travelled from in Victoria, adding: “There is no benefit from a public health perspective in the personal vilification of any individual.”
The spokeswoman said SA Health was not expecting any further exposure sites, after announcing on Tuesday the South Eastern Hotel Sip ‘n’ Save between 5.30pm and 6.05pm on Friday, October 1.
Premier Steven Marshall condemned the arson attack, saying it was “very disturbing”.
Peter Staskevickus said he heard sirens while he was asleep about 10.30pm on Tuesday. “I was laying in bed, dead to the world, having a good dream,” he said.
“I went outside to have a look and the fire brigade is there, police is there … the house was on fire there and the car was on fire.”
Mr Staskevickus said he did not feel sorry for the woman because of the effect of her alleged actions on the South-East community, which had been left very angry. “We don’t want to shut down. We just want to live,” he said.