South Australia Enters Six-Day Lockdown After Cases Linked to Quarantine Hotel

The three cases in Adelaide were the first to be reported in six months in South Australia (Wikimedia Commons).

Following the detection of 36 COVID-19 cases linked to a hotel quarantine site, South Australia entered an immediate six-day lockdown on November 18. The regulations mean that residents must be isolated at home until the midnight of November 24, except when seeking essential services such as groceries and medical care.

South Australia is the fifth most populated state in Australia. So far, the state has recorded 550 confirmed cases, and 512 patients have recovered. These cases, reported in Adelaide, were the first to be reported in six months. On November 18, the state recorded two new COVID-19 cases out of 9,500 tests.

According to the Government of South Australia’s official website, the regulations mean that only one person per household is permitted to go to the grocery store per  a day. Schools are closed to all except the children of essential workers, children in care of the state, or children deemed vulnerable. Masks are not required, but are highly recommended. People are not permitted to travel within South Australia either. Anyone planning to travel to South Australia from other states must complete a Cross Border Travel Registration, and must wait until they are approved. 

Following the immediate lockdown, there will be eight more days of lesser restrictions, authorities say. A record 20,000 people were tested in a 48 hour period following the beginning of lockdown, and zero positive tests were reported on the 19th. 

Although the original cases were linked to Peppers Waymouth Hotel, a quarantine site, there are other clusters that are currently being monitored. A security guard who tested positive at the hotel was also working at the Woodville Pizza Bar. 

Prof Nicola Spurrier, who is South Australia’s chief health officer, says that this particular strain of the virus has a very short incubation period and that some people are becoming infectious within 24 hours of contracting the virus. She says that it is important to contain the virus now, even if the number of cases seems low.