Wastewater tests detect ‘strong sample’ of COVID-19 in Adelaide CBD

Wastewater testing has detected a strong sample of COVID-19 in the CBD area, as SA Health scrambles to discover its source.

Wastewater testing for COVID has detected the virus in the CBD, in a catchment not linked to Tom’s Court Hotel where all of the known positive cases are staying.

SA Health says this could be an old infection, or a case yet to be diagnosed in one of the other medi-hotels, but community transmission cannot be ruled out.

It is now scrambling to discover the origin of this “strong result”.

The test comes from an area that services around 12,000 people that includes part of Adelaide’s CBD and inner east and northeast.

The positive samples were collected on Thursday and Friday.

SA Water senior manager of water expertise and research, Dr Daniel Hoefel, with SA Water scientist in environmental microbiology, Melody Lau, doing COVID-19 wastewater testing.

Deputy chief public health officer Dr Chris Lease said resampling of wastewater would continue across the night tonight.

“This is a timely reminder that the risk of the virus has not left our state,” he said.

“It is particularly important at this time, as we do have a number of events going on, that people observe the COVID-safe measures that have been implemented at these events.”

He said that while there had been positive detections in wastewater in the past, from the catchment including the Pullman Hotel, “the strength of the signal at this stage is one that’s giving us a degree of concern, we haven’t seen a strong signal like this”.

“Of course, our biggest concern is undetected cases in the community and again that’s why the strong appeal to people to get tested, even with the slightest symptoms,” he said.

“It’s easy to do, go out and do it, it’s a fantastic thing to do not only for yourself and your family but for the broader community.”

Map showing the locations of 22 wastewater sampling points for COVID testing within the catchments for Bolivar, Glenelg and Christies Beach wastewater treatment plants. This covers wastewater from all suburbs in the Adelaide metropolitan area. Supplied. Credit: SA Water

Health Minister Stephen Wade said it was a reminder to all to not become complacent.

“Public health officials have made it very clear over recent months that they are very concerned that around 70 per cent of people who have symptoms of COVID-19 are not getting tested,” he said.

“It’s really important that South Australians continue to do the good work that they’ve done right through this pandemic, so it’s really important that even if you’ve got the mildest symptoms, you get tested for COVID-19. “

Mr Wade said he was concerned that the level of testing had dropped off, with just 2278 tests taken on Sunday, especially as the vaccine rollout would not be completed until the end of the year.

“Right through this year we’ll need to maintain public health measures, in particular, we’ll continue to ask South Australians get tested with even the mildest of symptoms,” Mr Wade said.

“These wastewater results are a timely reminder that this that this pandemic is still with us.”

The state has recorded no new COVID cases today, with three active cases in hotel quarantine.

Last week SA Health shut the Queen Elizabeth Hospital COVID testing clinic, leaving western suburbs residents facing a trip to Port Adelaide or the city for a test and announced it would also wind up the Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s COVID clinic.

Local Labor MP Joe Szakacs again called on the government to reconsider this decision and re-open the QEH testing clinic.

“With today’s updated SA Health advice, I’m urging the Government to immediately reopen a walk-in testing clinic for our western suburbs,” he said.

“Now is not the time for complacency, and it’s definitely not the time for mixed messages from the Government.

“Our community has been doing the hard yards and making sacrifices during the pandemic. It’s been the right thing to do. And the right thing to do from the Government is to reverse their abrupt decision to close the QEH testing clinic.”

But when asked today if the decision to close testing clinics was taken prematurely, Mr Wade was quick to dismiss the suggestion.

“The reality is that we’ve got huge capacity to do to do additional tests right across South Australia in relation to the CBD the closest testing facility here is Victoria Park, and we actually extended the hours of Victoria Park last week,” he said.

This is the first announcement of a positive wastewater test result since December, when SA Health refused to share the latest COVID-19 wastewater test results because they did not “scare people”.

At that time, a spokeswoman said the “sentinel service” provided by SA Water was valuable as an “early warning” for SA Health but the results of weekly testing would not routinely be made public.

“We will let you know if there’s any update to provide,” she said.

That time has now come.

In November, SA Water expanded wastewater testing for COVID-19 to home in on hot spots through a network of 22 sampling locations across the city.

Originally published as Wastewater tests detect ‘strong sample’ of COVID-19 in Adelaide CBD