South Australia records 842 new cases, one death as restrictions tighten

South Australia recorded 842 new Covid-19 cases and one death as it woke to tougher restrictions on Monday.

South Australia has recorded 842 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Monday as the state woke to tougher restrictions.

SA Health confirmed a 94-year-old woman who tested positive for the virus died in metropolitan Adelaide on Boxing Day.

While she acquired the virus in South Australia, the cause of her death is yet to be determined by a coroner.

Her death marks the fifth positive case to have lost their life in the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

There were 18,077 tests conducted in the past 24 hours as long queues across metropolitan Adelaide continue.

Of Monday’s new infections, 81 per cent of them are Omicron.

Twenty-three people are in hospital, with four people now in intensive care and one on a ventilator.

South Australia recorded 842 new Covid-19 cases on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

It comes as authorities introduced density requirements and caps on home gatherings at 12.01am on Monday to try to slow the spread of the latest strain of concern.

Under the new rules, gyms can only operate with a one person per 7sq m rule.

Hospitality venues have a one person per 4sq m requirement for indoor settings and one per 2sq m outdoors.

Only 10 people are permitted to be in a home at one time, down from 30 people.

As SA recorded 774 new infections on Sunday, chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier announced SA Health would stop interviewing all positive cases and would only list high-risk settings, like hospitals and aged care centres, as exposure sites.

She said the focus was to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on vulnerable people as opposed to eliminating the spread.

“The rapid rise in the number of cases in South Australia means that it is not practical to list every site where every positive case has visited, and we have changed the way we report public exposure locations accordingly,’’ Professor Spurrier said.

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said only high-risk exposure sites would be publicly listed as cases continue to rise. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards