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- Queensland borders are staying shut to Adelaide for at least another week after a man spent a day at the shops before testing positive for COVID-19
- The man visited several shops and a university campus before taking a COVID-19 test which returned positive results
- While initial reports surfaced that he was supposed to be in quarantine for 14 days when he went out in the community, South Australian health authorities later confirmed he was actually only considered a casual contact
- This meant he was just advised to keep an eye out for symptoms and get a test if any presented
- Now, South Australian authorities are calling for anyone who visited those same shops to get a coronavirus swab
- Meanwhile, Queensland still considers South Australia a risk and has kept its borders closed to Adelaide
- This comes as border checkpoints are dismantled for free travel to Queensland from New South Wales and Victoria from tomorrow
Queensland borders are staying shut to Adelaide for at least another week after a man spent a day at the shops before testing positive for COVID-19.
South Australian health authorities initially said the man breached quarantine and was supposed to be at home for two weeks when he went to several shops and the Flinders University campus in Adelaide. He subsequently tested positive for the virus.
Now, new reports have surfaced that the man was actually not required to quarantine in the first place; he was a casual contact of a coronavirus case and had just been advised to keep an eye out for symptoms and get tested if any presented.
Alas, he ended up taking a swap and tested positive for the virus after have gone out into the community. He allegedly went to a Big W at the Brickworks shopping centre in Torrensville, a supermarket in Norwood, and a Kmart at the Kurralta Park shopping centre, as well as a Guzman y Gomez and Boost Juice, among others.
South Australia’s Chief Public Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, is now calling for anyone who visited those shops that day to take a COVID-19 test.
However, given the nature of the man’s visits, these people are only considered causal contacts, not close contacts, and as such are not required to self-isolate for 14 days.
While Professor Spurrier said health authorities would be reviewing credit card details and loyalty card information to directly contact as many people as possible, SA Health said it could not say how many people visited these venues when the infected man was there.
Open border delays
Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is keeping the state’s borders closed for another week ahead of the Christmas holiday season — even as the state dismantles border checkpoints and barricades to other states.
Victorian and New South Wales residents will be able to drive freely into Queensland without needing border passes or being checked by police before entering the state. However, Premier Palaszczuk said South Australia remains a risk.
“We want to make sure that everything is perfectly safe when we can lift those borders, and we do have that aspiration that everyone can travel freely for Christmas,” the Premier said.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said the border directions are in line with most other states and territories.
“Most of the states and territories in Australia still have some limitation on movements from Adelaide to their state, so we will continue that here in Queensland and continue to review it over the next week,” Dr Young said.
South Australia recorded two new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, with the state now reporting 14 active cases.
There are 33 cases connected to the Parafield cluster, and 1300 people are quarantining over potential links to the group.
Meanwhile, it has been 31 days in a row with no new COVID-19 cases for Victoria and 23 days in a row for New South Wales.
