South Australia has reintroduced a number of significant restrictions in response to a coronavirus cluster in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
Adelaide. Photo: AFP / Hemis
Premier Steven Marshall said all inbound international flights to Adelaide have been cancelled for the remainder of this week and the Australian Defence Force will be mobilised in South Australia.
He said space may be required in the medi-hotel system for locally-acquired cases.
Chief Public Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, said the despite significant rates of testing today, no new cases had been identified beyond the 17 confirmed this morning.
There are currently 34 active cases in South Australia including repatriated citizens in hotel quarantine.
Mr Marshall said from midnight tonight, a number of restrictions would be reintroduced for the whole of South Australia, including:
- The closure of gyms, play cafes and trampoline facilities, likely for two weeks
- Community sports fixtures and training temporarily cancelled for both indoor and outdoor sports, as well as contact and non-contact sports
- Funerals capped at 50 people, with patrons to abide by a one per four square meter density rule
- Masks mandatory for aged care facilities, with visitors capped at two per day
- Churches capped at 100 guests
- Weddings can continue, but all guests must be registered with the Communicable Disease Control Branch
- Private gatherings at licensed venues will now be capped at 50, with one per four square metres
- Pubs, clubs and restaurants will be capped at 100 per venue with one per four square metres and no stand-up consumption of alcohol
- Private gatherings are capped at 10 people per residence
- All activities with an approved COVID management plan scheduled for the next two weeks have been cancelled
- Cinemas and theatres to follow the one person per four square metre density rule
- Nail salon operators, tattooists, hairdressers and personal care service providers will need to wear a mask
- Care workers limited to one workplace
Premier Steven Marshall thanked the people of South Australia for flocking to get tested.
"We are facing our biggest test to-date," Mr Marshall said.
"We are working around the clock to stay ahead of this cluster, no effort will be spared.
"We must act swiftly and decisively to stay ahead of the game."
The Premier urged people to work from home if they could, asked for all unnecessary travel plans to be cancelled, said mask should be worn when social distancing was not possible and encouraged vulnerable people to stay home and avoid visitors.
'Facing a second wave'
Chief of Public Health, Professor Nicola Spurrier, said putting restriction in place was the best way to get ahead of the cluster.
"What we are facing is, indeed, a second wave, but we haven't got the second wave yet. We are in very, very early days," Professor Spurrier said.
"The first thing we need to do … is the testing, contact tracing and getting people into quarantine very, very quickly.
"The other way of getting ahead of this and to stop that second wave, and to suppress it, is to put some restrictions in place to reduce the number of close contacts between people."
She said the cluster "is clearly from a medi-hotel" but genomic testing was ongoing.
"We have tested the two people who are security guards from a medi-hotel and the one person that works in the medi-hotel from back of house and we are waiting to have that genomic analysis," she said.
"Then we will be able to link exactly to which person they were able to get it from."
