SA outbreak a wake-up call that COVID-19 is not going anywhere

THE new COVID-19 cluster developing in Adelaide is of serious concern and, as our experts in the NT have said, is a wake-up call for all of us that this pandemic is far from over.

Passengers from an Adelaide-Darwin flight head towards buses that will take them to mandatory quarantine, after their plane landed at Darwin International Airport yesterday morning. Passengers were in the air when the decision was made. Picture: Che Chorley

• ‘It could happen here too’: Chief Health Officer, Chief Minister warn Territorians not to be complacent
• Adelaide-Darwin travellers told midair they’ll have to quarantine, as the NT reintroduces border restrictions for SA
• NT brings in mandatory quarantine for travellers from South Australia residents after cluster outbreak

JUST when you thought Australia was slowly getting back to normal, COVID-19 has struck again.

The new cluster developing in Adelaide is of serious concern and, as our experts in the NT have said, is a wake-up call for all of us that this pandemic is far from over.

Until yesterday, South Australia was considered one of the safest states in the nation when it came to coronavirus.

But it appears all it took was one worker in hotel quarantine to be infected which sparked a chain reaction which has now impacted the lives of 1.7 million South Australians and resulted in the Territory’s borders closing to travellers from that state.

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The border closure has come at the worst possible time for the thousands of ex-South Australians who had planned to return home for the Christmas-New Year break.

While still hopeful the borders to SA can reopen soon, the likelihood of them opening before Christmas is unlikely given the significant community transmission that has occurred.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner has done the right thing to act swiftly by closing our borders to South Australia, however, as more detail emerges in the coming days it is likely the hot spot area will narrow within SA.

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The year 2020 has been one to forget and this is just another kick in the guts.

We can only hope a vaccine emerges soon so we can kill coronavirus forever.