Feature image: Meals on Wheels Facebook.
In a new development following the announcement of South Australia’s lockdown this morning, online outlets have revealed a staff member at one of Adelaide’s Meals on Wheels kitchens has tested positive for COVID-19.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the case is in addition to the five other confirmed cases of COVID in SA since this morning’s press conference or whether this is a new case.
The staff member at the Hindmarsh branch kitchen has received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently in quarantine.
Meals on Wheels SA is working closely with SA Health to assist contact tracers in relation to the man who attended an exposure site on Saturday night. Working in the Hindmarsh kitchen on Monday morning, the staff member had no direct customer contact.
He informed Meals on Wheels as soon as he had been notified that afternoon, following his shift, that he needed to get tested. All volunteers and staff members working at the kitchen on Monday have now been notified and directed to get urgently tested and quarantine as per the advice received from SA Health.
As a precaution, customers who received meals from the Hindmarsh branch on Monday are also being notified and asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested as soon as they develop.
The Hindmarsh kitchen is closed and will undertake a complete industrial clean in accordance with SA Health before re-opening.
In the meantime, alternative arrangements are being made to ensure customers of the Meals on Wheels Hindmarsh branch will continue to receive their meals in line with strict food and safety handling guidelines.
During the seven-day lockdown, Meals on Wheels SA will continue delivering hot and frozen meals to those in need right across the community.
Meals on Wheels is SA’s largest community-based volunteer organisation and is responsible for 80 branches, 7000 volunteers and 60 staff delivering 4000 daily meals and supporting 11,000 people annually.
All South Australians who have symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested on the day symptoms appear.
Symptoms include:
– Fever or chills (in the absence of an alternative illness that explains these symptoms)
– An acute respiratory infection e.g. cough, sore throat, runny nose, or shortness of breath
– Loss of smell or alteration in the sense of taste
– Diarrhoea and vomiting For more information: SA COVID-19 Information Line 1800 253 787; sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVID2019.
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