COVID-19

Norwood Covid cluster grows by 16

Premier Steven Marshall, Professor Nicola Spurrier, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens addressed the South Australian public this afternoon to update the state on current COVID cases.

Premier Steven Marshall, Professor Nicola Spurrier and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens addressed the South Australian public with the latest on the Norwood outbreak, which has grown to 16, with the total number of active cases in our state now at 18.

There are 210 close contacts of the 18 infected that are currently in quarantine, with Professor Spurrier saying they are not publishing information on all of the exposure sites, only the ones relevant to the public.

“As we get more cases in this state I need to make it clear that we cannot call all close contacts of every case… so we will be using SMS for some close contacts”, she said.

Speaking of the Omicron variant, Spurrier says, SA Health are getting the equipment up and running to detect the Omicron strain through an initial screening test.

The Norwood cluster was linked to a traveller coming in from NSW, with positive cases including former SA Premier Jay Weatherill, with Parliament adjourning as a result to allow for contact tracing to take place. All 16 of those infected were vaccinated, with Parliament sittings resuming this afternoon.

The remaining two new cases in SA are people who appear to have become infected interstate.

The Premier expressed his concerned about the latest Omicron variant, with seven cases of the strain currently active in the country, all of which are interstate and in quarantine.

He further stated that as of this afternoon, those travelling from NSW will have to have a covid test on arrival.

“We have been preparing for this for a long time”, the Premier says of our current active delta strain cases.

Police Commissioner Grant Steves says we are currently on the path that they were expecting, but that the Omicron strain was of concern moving forward.

He says QR compliance is being checked weekly, with border checks continuing for those entering the state, stressing the importance of getting protected.

“The goal of vaccination is to put less stress on the hospital system”, he says.

Currently, people can travel from overseas quarantine-free if they arrive in another state first.

At the time of writing, South Australia’s vaccination rates are inching closer to that crucial 90 per cent double vaccinated rate. A total of 80.8 per cent of the eligible South Australian population has received both doses, with 89.4 per cent having had their first dose.

SA recored 8,687 covid tests on Wednesday.

Important things to note:

You may not always receive a call, SMS or email from SA Health.

You must follow the relevant health advice even if you have not been contacted.

If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, please seek testing as soon as possible.

For more information on health advice and requirements for households, visit www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVIDcontacttracing.

Find your nearest testing site at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVIDtesting

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