South Australia announces six-day lockdown from midnight to stamp out new coronavirus outbreak

Michael Howie18 November 2020

South Australia has announced an immediate six-day lockdown in an effort to stamp out a new coronavirus outbreak.  

State Premier Steven Marshall said wide-ranging restrictions will be imposed on homes and businesses from midnight on Wednesday to allow "breathing space" for contact tracing.

"We need this circuit breaker, this community pause," he said. "We are going hard and we are going early. Time is of the essence and we must act swiftly and decisively."

The lockdown means people will be restricted from going outside of their homes, with only one person per household allowed to leave each day, but only for specific purposes.

Masks will be required in all areas outside of the home.

All schools, takeaway food, pubs, cafes and universities will be closed, along with the construction industry, which has been allowed to operate during past lockdowns in Australia

The announcement appeared to spark a panic-buying scramble with images on social media showing people queuing at supermarkets to buy toilet paper and other essentials. 

The outbreak centred on Adelaide has expanded to 22 cases since authorities announced the first cases there on Sunday . South Australia had not seen any cases for three months, leaving officials poised to lift the last remaining restrictions.  

The virus strain in the new cases was "highly contagious with short incubation period and limited symptoms", Mr Marshall said.

"We have one chance, one chance, and will be throwing all our resources at it because we know the consequences of getting it wrong," he said.

The restrictions also mean aged care and disability residential facilities, some of the most vulnerable to coronavirus, will be locked down.

Weddings and funerals will be banned, along with open real estate auctions and outdoor exercises. Factories other than food and medical products will be closed.

Regional travel is also not approved.

The latest outbreak is linked to an Australian who arrived in the state capital Adelaide from overseas on November 2 and entered mandatory quarantine in a hotel. Hotel workers are believed to have contracted the virus after touching a contaminated surface.

Epidemiologist were unsure whether this was a genetically mutated virus strain. 

"I haven't seen any official genetic data suggesting it's a new strain," said Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales.

"This outbreak started at a hotel from an overseas arrival. It will therefore have come from the United States, Europe, India or some other place so this is not a new strain," said Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at Canberra Hospital.

"It may be different to what has been prevalent in Australia but it isn’t any more deadly or contagious."

Elsewhere, in Victoria state, which was the epicentre of Australia's nearly 28,000 cases until last month, clocked its 19th straight day of zero new cases.

New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital city, reported zero local and seven imported cases.  

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