Premier Steven Marshall will isolate SA as coronavirus surges

The Premier will cut the state off from the rest of the nation from Tuesday as cases of coronavirus surge around the country. SA has today confirmed 100 instances of COVID-19.

• This story has now been superseded, please follow this link for coverage into Monday March 23

The number of South Australians who have tested positive to the coronavirus has reached 100 after 33 more cases were diagnosed on Sunday.

For the first time during the COVID-19 crisis patients have tested positive to the virus in regional centres with cases confirmed in Whyalla and Waikerie.

SA’s Chief Public Health Officer Associate Professor Nicola Spurrier said that SA Health personnel were going through the process of trying to trace the patients’ contact with other people.

“The individuals range in age from people in their 20s right through to people in their 70s,” she said.

“Of those cases there is no one in a serious clinical situation, there have been no admissions to ICU in this state.

“We are still undertaking contact tracing for many of these cases. It is a laborious process because it has to be done meticulously, we have increased out capacity to do this over the next couple of days.

“All of the cases we have investigated thus far have acquired the virus overseas, interstate or have been close contact with a known case.

“There is no known community-acquired transition at this stage in South Australia, but we are still conducting those contact tracing investigations.”

100 people in SA have been diagnosed with Covid-19. More than 30 diagnosed since yesterday. @theTiser pic.twitter.com/u2vVpH32M0

— Mitch Mott (@MitchMottTiser) March 22, 2020

Prof Spurrier asked for all people who have arrived in South Australia from the eastern states within the last seven days and have developed respiratory symptoms to be tested for coronavirus.

“It is a very serious situation we are now in, we have advanced our emergency declaration as a state and we are placing restriction on interstate travel,” she said.

Members of a group of American tourists in isolation in a Barossa Hotel were on Sunday evening transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment.

Their conditions are not believed to have deteriorated and they are now being treated in the specialised wards at the RAH.

The exact number of cases in Whyalla and Waikerie were not detailed by Prof Spurrier though she did confirm there were fewer than five cases in each area

BORDERS TO CLOSE

Premier Steven Marshall made the border announcement on Sunday. The closures will take effect from 4pm Tuesday.

All people who enter the state will be forced into 14 day isolation or face penalties, with SA Police staffing 12 border patrol stations.

Mr Marshall said: “We do not make this decision lightly, but we have no choice”.

Health workers, emergency services, freight and vital goods will continue to be permitted.

According to SA Health, “near border interactions” will also be exempt, and others such as fly-in fly-out workers could be exempt as long as they have disease control systems in place.

Incoming people will have to sign a declaration saying they will follow the self-isolation guidelines, and provide police with information about where they will be. Road crossings and the airport will be monitored.

It comes after similar moves in Tasmania and the NT, and as the Federal Government flags there are likely to be differing “tools” available to states and communities based on the level of their outbreaks.

Victoria will also shut down non-essential services across the state, including schools on Tuesday.

Mr Marshall’s announcement followed an urgent and extraordinary SA Cabinet meeting.

“We make this decision in the interests of public health,” he said. “What we are trying to do here is massively reduce the peak of the coronavirus impact and push it out into the future as far as possible.”

Mr Marshall said it would effectively “turn off the tap” of cases flowing in from interstate.

The extreme measure has the support of the Opposition, while the state’s chief public health officer said everything needed to be considered to slow the virus spread.

SA Health chief public health office Nicola Spurrier said critical care beds, staff numbers and intensive care unit capacity were all being examined.

Delaying the rise of cases would allow more training of staff and the sourcing of special chemicals needed to undertake tests, she said.

SA officials are also seeking access to more gowns and masks.

Dr Spurrier said individuals must do their bit.

“We can only do so much to enforce this at a government level. I’m asking each and every one of you to follow these instructions. It’s the only way that we can get ahead of COVID-19,” she said.

Special exemptions will be made in border communities where people need to regularly cross to access essential services.

It is believed to be the first time such strict border measures have been imposed in SA.

Mr Marshall said National Cabinet would discuss school closures.

He said all expert advice to date had suggested schools should stay open. However, he said the State Government was willing to shut the schools in SA if the advice from leading medical experts was to do so.

“I’m not going to be pre-empting that,” Mr Marshall said.

Mr Marshall conceded the border restrictions would be particularly difficult for fly-in-fly-out businesses.

Authorities also today recommended halting all non-essential travel within Australia immediately as Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned there would be tougher measures to contain localised virus outbreaks.

SA Health yesterday confirmed 10 US tourists from a group of 18 had tested positive to COVID-19 while visiting wineries and sightseeing in the Barossa Valley.

The group, including two men aged in their 50s and 60s and a female aged in her 70s, is now in isolation in their accommodation. SA recorded 17 positive coronavirus cases yesterday, taking the total to 67.

SA Premier Steven Marshall with SA Health chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes

Mr Marshall last night told the Sunday Mail the State Government was now “actively considering all measures to slow the rate in South Australia as much as possible”.

“We are now increasingly concerned about the rate of infection coming from sources interstate and we will look at this very closely over the next 24 hours,” Mr Marshall said.

“There’s still no evidence in South Australia of community transmission and this is something that we must protect.”

Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas, who called for the move earlier in the day, said he would offer bipartisan support to Mr Marshall to take the decisive action.

“We have now seen the number of cases from this virus move very quickly over the course of the past 48 hours,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“Substantial spikes on states that border South Australia now requires us to act.

“Lessons from Europe and increasingly from the United States tell us that quick decisive action is our best defence.”

Mr Malinauskas said restricting the entry of people into SA could help prevent what was happening in the eastern states.

“This will not stop coronavirus in South Australia but it has a capacity to be another positive step that will stem the flow,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas said there would have to be exemptions for essential services workers and people arriving on compassionate grounds.

NSW yesterday recorded 54 new cases and Victoria 51. Australia has now surpassed 1000 coronavirus cases and as of 5.30pm yesterday had recorded a total 1072.

The NT Government will follow in the footsteps of Tasmania by effectively closing its borders from Tuesday and making all new visitors self-isolate for 14 days. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also announced the border between her state and the NT was closed.

Mr Marshall said people who were not adhering to self-isolation obligations could expect to come under increased police pressure this week.

“If someone is given an order, that order from Border Force or SA Health is given directly to SA Police to monitor it,” he said.

“If people fail to do it they can actually be arrested and put into custody. People might think that there’s just an on-the-spot fine.

“Fines are put in place but the police also have the power to put people in custody if they are putting the public health at risk.”

SA Health chief public health officer Associate Professor Dr Nicola Spurrier said various border policies would be investigated but “that is going to be looked at in a very scientific and staged way”.

“Everything needs to be looked at some point in this epidemic,” Dr Spurrier said.

“What we are recommending to people is reducing the amount of non-essential travel and I think it is important to bring this up at this time given we are close to the school holiday period. I would really like to give a strong message to the public to rethink your travel plans. We want you to be safe and we want the community to be safe.”

The country’s top public health doctors will meet today to investigate what other public restrictions need to be introduced in the coming days before briefing Tuesday’s national Cabinet meeting.

The Ruby Princess cruise ship was controversially allowed to unload 2700 passengers in Sydney on Friday.

Four people have since tested positive to COVID-19 and NSW authorities are now trying to trace all those who were on the ship. Two cases in Darwin also have been linked to the Ruby Princess.

It was reported that the Ruby Princess had docked in Sydney on March 8 with 158 sick passengers, although the captain had told authorities he had no ill passengers.

Meanwhile, Ovation of the Seas passengers were told – three days after arriving in Sydney – of a confirmed coronavirus case on-board.

The NSW Government today took drastic action by closing the world-famous Bondi Beach after footage of people packing the coastline drew international condemnation.

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said young people were acting like they were indestructible.

“You are not invincible. This virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you,” he said.

Tourists, child fuel big spike in cases

South Australia has recorded its biggest daily spike in coronavirus cases after a cluster of American tourists fell ill while visiting the Barossa Valley.

SA Health tests today revealed 17 new COVID-19 patients – including 10 members of a United States tour group and a nine year-old boy returning from Britain.

As the number of local cases hit 67 – more than a third of which involved travellers returning from the United States – authorities said none were from community transmission.

The 18-member tour group last night remained in quarantine at their Barossa Valley accommodation, which is not being identified for security reasons, as a Parkside aged care home remained in lockdown after female worker fell ill. No residents have been tested. The 10 infected tourists, who had travelled to Australia before quarantine rules were introduced, were in a stable condition last night.

Authorities will move the them to the Royal Adelaide Hospital if their health deteriorate. SA Health officials are urgently investigating their itineraries. It is unclear where the other seven patients, who were not part of the tour party, were receiving care.

SA’s chief public health officer, Associate Professor Dr Nicola Spurrier, said there was no public risk. “There is absolutely no reason for people in the Barossa to panic,” she said.

“What you need to now do is to let my team go through the standard public health process in interviewing those people and finding out exactly where they have been.

“I think many of us around Australia are concerned about the increasing rate of cases, however all of them in SA – and the vast majority in other states – have a travel history or have been a close contact of a case … it is still important that we stay alert but not alarmed.” The Government will spend $6.5 million for a 90-bed coronavirus unit at the Repat Hospital.

– Andrew Hough & Michael McGuire

Staff, students ‘need checks’

South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas. Picture: AAP/Brenton Edwards

The Opposition wants daily temperature checks for all staff and students in SA schools.

The call came as Premier Steven Marshall faces increasing pressure to shut schools.

However, he has said the decision to not do so had been influenced by the success in Singapore where they had also remained open.

But Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas and Labor’s education spokeswoman, Susan Close, said Singapore had implemented daily temperature checks for all staff and students, with those who recorded a higher reading immediately sent home.

Mr Malinauskas said Singapore had also adopted staggered breaks to reduce the number of children gathering together.

“If schools are going to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic, we must introduce strict new protections for students and staff,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Dr Close said: “At a minimum, all schools should be undertaking daily temperature checks of all staff and students, and anyone with a temperature should be sent home straight away.”

Mr Marshall said he had not ruled out school closures in the future.

Discussions about closures are expected to dominate debate at a federal Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Political leaders have raised concerns that closures could affect the health workforce by forcing many frontline staff to stay at home to look after their children.

Originally published as Premier Steven Marshall will isolate SA as coronavirus surges