Adelaide Covid-19 quarantine guests move after risky test time

A second scare over the aerosol transmission of Covid-19 in an Adelaide quarantine hotel has forced the evacuation of all residents to a new facility.

A repatriation flight from India arrives in Adelaide on Friday. Picture: Dean Martin

A second scare over the aerosol transmission of Covid-19 in an Adelaide quarantine hotel has forced the evacuation of all residents to a new facility following the testing of an unwell two-year-old boy who returned to Adelaide from India.

The boy’s mother now also has Covid-19 and there are fears it may have become airborne in the hotel corridor after lengthy delays while her distressed son was being tested.

The evacuation comes just one week after SA Health revealed that the Covid-19 case linked to the ongoing Victorian cluster may have been spread by aerosol transmission through opened neighbouring doors at the Playford Hotel.

SA Health said on Friday that it had taken staff 18 minutes to test the boy and his mother at the Peppers quarantine hotel facility in the Adelaide CBD last Thursday. The delays were caused by the toddler’s distress, and identity check and language difficulties.

Given that the Playford Hotel case involved doors being left open between an infected and then uninfected guest for as little as 18 seconds, SA Health said it now had concerns that Covid-19 may have spread through the air at the Peppers Hotel while the boy was being tested.

As a result, all 18 quarantining travellers in adjoining rooms at the Peppers Hotel have now been moved across town to the Pullman Adelaide in Hindmarsh Square.

The boy tested positive for Covid-19 when he was tested on his first day and was taken to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he was “very unwell”.

While the boy has improved and is stable, his mother now also has Covid-19, and the pair are now together at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

South Australia’s chief public health officer, Nicola Spurrier, said on Friday the mother was “quite unwell”.

Professor Spurrier said she was concerned about the possible spreading of the virus throughout the hotel during the testing process as a result of the child’s door being open.

“When the staff did a look-back they saw the door of the child’s room had been opened and shut a few times, and that posed a significant risk,” she said.

SA Health sent a bulletin to Peppers Hotel residents advising them of the decision to move them.

“As per the normal testing practice, the mother and child were swabbed in the doorway of their room,” it states.

“However, the time taken to perform the test was extended because of a number of factors, including identity checks, language barriers and the child’s distress.

“Out of an abundance of caution to protect the community – with the now-known risk of aerosol spread and based on air circulation and full air clearance – all guests staying on the floor will be directed to complete a further 14 days of quarantine.

“(This is) due to a number of identified floor movements that occurred after completion of the swabbing process.”