Coronavirus SA: SA Health accused of ‘covering up’ positive COVID-19 result in North Adelaide tennis quarantine facility

A positive virus test for a traveller with an international tennis star in SA’s quarantine system was kept quiet, it has emerged. It comes as SA records two new cases.

France's Benoit Paire said the positive test was recorded ahead of last month’s special Memorial Drive A Day at the Drive 2021. Picture: Paul Crock/AFP

A positive coronavirus test found in a traveller linked to an international tennis star within Adelaide’s special quarantine system was kept secret, it has emerged.

French tennis star Benoit Paire on Tuesday claimed a positive COVID-19 infection was found last month, ahead of the special Memorial Drive A Day at the Drive event.

But the case, said to be an old infection and not contagious, was kept secret to avoid “double counting”, SA Health admitted on Tuesday night, despite it normally reporting other similar types of cases.

The infection was linked to an unnamed player’s entourage, Nine News reported.

It comes as SA records two new cases, bring the total to 605. Two men – one in his 30s, one in his 40s – both recently returned from overseas and are in a medi-hotel.

Amid speculation about an infection within the facility, an Australian Open spokesman said on January 16: “SA Health has confirmed … there is no one who has an active COVID-19 infection in the entire tennis cohort based in Adelaide.”

Among the international superstars who quarantined at the Majestic M Suites in North Adelaide for the one-day tournament A Day at the Drive included No. 1 Novak Djokovic, 33, Rafael Nadal, 34, Dominic Thiem, 27, Serena Williams, 39, and Naomi Osaka, 23.

One of 72 players forced into a 14-day hard quarantine after someone on his charter flight to Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19, Paire, 20, unloaded on tournament organisers after a four-set loss to Egor Gerasimov.

He claimed double-standards after players on a flight to Adelaide did not have the same strict quarantine requirements as those who landed in Melbourne despite also having a positive COVID-19 case on-board.

“I think it’s s***, and what happened is shameful,” Paire told French publication L’Equipe.

“I’m very disappointed with this tournament.

“This match, I could have won it if I had had one or two more training sessions, a normal preparation.”

He also said money was the only reason the tournament was going ahead despite being compromised.

“It’s all about the money. That’s it, actually. There is a huge loss if they don’t make the tournament,” he said.

In a statement to The Advertiser on Tuesday night, chief public health officer, Nicola Spurrier, who later publicly ruled out new cases involved the tennis, defended the secrecy.

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Roy VanDerVegt.

“This specific test result showed very clearly it was an old infection,” Professor Spurrier said.

“Additionally there was documentation that the infection was old and the person concerned had been identified as a positive case overseas and had been cleared by public health authorities overseas.

“In other circumstances, test results can be borderline or return a weak positive and further investigation is needed to determine a result, but is considered a positive case until the extra information is received.”

She said all infectious cases of COVID-19 were added to the South Australian count and reported publicly.

“To avoid double counting of cases worldwide, if any case has clearly been diagnosed overseas, has recovered and is not infectious, and previously been counted towards the international tally, there is no requirement to report this publicly,” Prof Spurrier said.

But in the daily COVID update on several recent days, an SA Health spokeswoman said of the relevant new cases that “serology testing is underway to determine if this is an old infection”.

SA Health has also disclosed on other cases how “further investigations have determined” it being “an old infection and it has been removed from our case numbers”.

Labor spokesman Chris Picton condemned the “secrecy”.

“The community has been told about other old infections detected – whereas now when tennis was involved, it was covered up,” he said.

“South Australians have been doing the right thing during the pandemic, the State Government owes it to not keep important details secret.”

Originally published as Coronavirus SA: SA Health accused of ‘covering up’ positive COVID-19 result in North Adelaide tennis quarantine facility