CANBERRA, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – South Australia (SA) reintroduced a range of COVID-19 restrictions, in an attempt to prevent the spread of a new outbreak of the virus.
As of yesterday afternoon, there were 27,750 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and most cases in the last 24 hours are reported in the state of SA.
SA so far has 544 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak of the virus, the fewest of any of Australia’s five mainland states.
However, authorities reported 18 new cases in the state as of yesterday afternoon, which are in the state’s first outbreak since Apr, sparking fears of a second wave of infections.
SA health department said, 13 of yesterday’s cases are linked to the Parafield cluster, the northern suburbs of Adelaide, capital of the state. “Total number of cases and suspected cases linked to the cluster is 19 people,” said SA health.
In response to the outbreak, Premier Steven Marshall, announced that, all international flights to the state would be cancelled for the rest of the week, to make quarantine hotels available for close contacts who have to enter isolation.
From midnight last night, work from home advice will be reinstated across the state, where possible, gyms and recreation centres will be closed for about two weeks and hospitality venues will be capped at 100 patrons at a time, with one person per four square metres.
“We must act swiftly and decisively on the health advice, to stay ahead of the game,” Marshall told reporters.
“I want to thank the people of South Australia for their patience in waiting to be tested. This may seem hugely inconvenient but testing is absolutely critical. We also boosted our contact-tracing team. This is an enormous task and they will get every single resource they require.”
Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said that “it is not a surprise” that can occur from a quarantined facility and what matters is “how you respond in these situations.”
Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory closed their borders to travellers from SA but Morrison said, he remained optimistic that all borders would be reopened by Christmas.
“So, we are supporting South Australia in every way that we can and they are aware of that,” he said. “We have stood up the aged care response centre in South Australia.
“What is important is, these don’t get sort of locked in as part of another enduring disruption, and as soon as South Australia is able to get on top of this, I would be expecting that states would keep on the path that we have set towards Christmas.”– NNN-AGENCIES
