Coronavirus: Infection surge in SA triggers fears of second wave

Health authorities in South Australia are scrambling to contain what they fear could be a second wave of COVID-19 after the virus escaped hotel quarantine.

Passengers wait for flights at Adelaide Airport on Monday. Picture: David Mariuz

Health authorities in South Australia are scrambling to contain what they fear could be a second wave of COVID-19 after the virus escaped hotel quarantine and spread among members of a large family whose movements while infectious have forced hundreds of people into isolation.

Two schools and a prison are urgently tracing close contacts of the 15 family members at the centre of the main cluster, with a total of 17 new infections diagnosed in SA on Monday.

An aged-care home in central Adelaide where two nurses worked while infectious is in lockdown, while scores of staff at the Lyell McEwin Hospital have been forced into isolation after an 80-year-old woman associated with the Parafield Gardens family cluster was treated at the hospital.

People who visited several shopping centres in Adelaide’s north have been told to monitor for symptoms, with hundreds of people flooding testing centres in the area on Monday.

The threatened second wave prompted Premier Steven Marshall to impose new restrictions. He ordered the closure of gyms, and recreation and play centres, and the suspension of community sport. Numbers of patrons at pubs, clubs and restaurants will be ­restricted to 100, with attendees at private gatherings capped at 50.

South Australians will have to limit visitors at family homes to 10 people, and no more than 50 people will be allowed at a funeral. Schools will remain open and aged-care residents will be limited to two visitors a day.

Health authorities say a breach of infection control in SA’s medi-health quarantine hotels is ­responsible for the cluster, which so far has not spread widely ­beyond the Parafield Gardens family breakout.

Three employees working in one of Adelaide’s quarantine ­hotels — two security guards and a cleaner — have contracted the virus. State Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said it was clear the source was a medi-hotel.

“We haven’t got the genomics yet, but I’m absolutely certain it has come from a medi-hotel,” Professor Spurrier said.

Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory issued quarantine and self-isolation orders for travellers arriving from SA, with only NSW keeping its border open with no quarantine provisions.

 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the state was shutting its border to SA, declaring Adelaide a COVID-19 hotspot. All arrivals to Queensland from SA will be required to enter mandatory hotel quarantine for 14 days. WA will also require SA travellers to enter quarantine. Victoria declared Adelaide a hotspot, but stopped short of imposing quarantine requirements.

SA’s chief police commissioner said he remained confident the hotel quarantine system was ­secure. Private security guards at the quarantine hotels have been under the close supervision of police and nurses. “I can absolutely ensure the SA community that the hotel quarantine system in SA is as good as anywhere,” said Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. “I am quite certain there is no complacency within the quarantine hotel environment.”

Professor Spurrier said she was optimistic the state would be able to contain the outbreak. “It looks like we are at the beginning or the early part of what could be a second wave,” she said. “But we haven’t got the second wave yet. We are in very early days.

“I feel very confident that we will get ahead of this.”

She said she was heartened that after thousands of people came forward for testing in Adelaide hotspots, no further cases were found throughout the day on Monday. “I am feeling very positive about that,” she said.

All international flights to ­Adelaide have been cancelled for the remainder of the week.

“The next 24 hours will be critical,” Mr Marshall said. “But we’re not going to wait for the situation to deteriorate. “We will throw ­absolutely everything on this to get on top of the cluster.”

He urged people to work from home if possible, and wear masks in situations where it was not possible socially distance.