This morning Premier Steven Marshall held a press conference to address the developing COVID situation in South Australia following the National Cabinet Meeting.
Premier Marshall announced that the child of the family of five who tested positive to the Delta strain has now returned a positive test, resulting in the infection of the entire family.
Premier Marshall has noted that the family has remained in complete isolation, and there are still no cases of community transition, however one new case has surfaced from a return traveller who is isolating in a medi-hotel. This case holds no threat to the community.
Marshall also announced he has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ask for a reduction in the the number of returning Australians to South Australia by 76 passengers per week. This was agreed upon but has somewhat been superseded following the National Cabinet Meeting that concluded just prior to this mornings presser.
Restrictions will remain as they have been since announcement with no increase or decrease. These include:
1. Reintroducing masks for high-risk settings including residential aged care, personal care, beauty services and hospitals. They highly recommend masks on public transport also.
2. Upper limit on private gatherings to 150 (previously uncapped) in homes or in halls. Above 50 still need a covid-safe plan in place, including a QR code.
3. Licensed premises – density changes back to 1 person to 2 square meters. There are to be no buffets, Sheesha facilities, and seated consumption is once again compulsory for indoor licensed premises.
The outbreak in South Australia has stemmed from a miner who worked at the Tanami mine site in NT, returned to South Australia over the weekend, and subsequently tested positive. Along with his wife and three of his children, who have now also tested positive, the whole family have now been transferred to Toms Court Hotel.
Nicola Spurrier spoke on the contact tracing methods of SA Health regarding the returning family and announced 344 close contacts in total were identified. Spurrier confirmed that 100% of these contact have been tested and have all returned a negative result.
All of the people on the flight the family was on have been contacted, with three people yet to be confirmed if they have been tested. Initially, SA Health had difficulty contacting two individuals on the flight, however have now been contacted and tested returning a negative result.
Spurrier said 75% of all people on the plane have returned a negative test, and the remaining 25% will be followed up later today.
This comes following yesterdays announcement from SA Health which detailed that people who visited Adelaide Airport on 25 June evening had to get tested and self-isolate, but those contacts have been downgraded to casual contact after a review of CCTV footage.
People experiencing any of the following symptoms should be tested for COVID-19:
• Fever or chills (in the absence of an alternative illness that explains these symptoms)
• An acute respiratory infection e.g. symptoms of cough, sore throat, runny nose, or shortness of breath
• Loss of smell or alteration in the sense of taste
Call the SA COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787, or go to www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVID2019; www.covid-19.SA.gov.au for more information.
