The state’s month-and-a-half run without any new cases of COVID-19 – and 11 days with zero active cases – has ended after authorities confirmed today that a positive test result was recorded late yesterday.
According to Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier, the woman had recently arrived in Victoria from an undisclosed international location, and spent several days quarantined in a hotel before travelling on to South Australia after receiving an exemption to the state’s border restrictions to on compassionate grounds.
In light of her recent international travel, a test was administered upon her arrival in the state, and she was placed in isolation until the results were confirmed late last night. She reportedly experienced “mild symptoms” while isolating in Victoria.
The woman, who is not an Australian resident, has family members in the state, with Professor Spurrier declining to disclose the woman’s country of origin on privacy grounds. While South Australia has had border restrictions in place since March, exemptions are made on a case-by-case basis, with the woman in question having “compelling family reasons”.
“We do have a large number of people asking for exemptions to travel into South Australia, and we have been very strict and pushing back,” Professor Spurrier explained during today’s briefing. “It really strengthens our resolve to minimise the number of exemptions, particularly when there’s been a history of international travel.”
According to Professor Spurrier, “quite a number of people” are currently isolating after coming into close contact with the woman, all of whom are connected to the woman’s flight and arrival at the airport.
Despite this setback, Professor Spurrier said she remained confident in South Australia’s current, accelerated timetable for easing COVID-19 restrictions in the state, which yesterday saw the beginning of ‘Step 2’ brought forward to 1 June.
“We still do not have any community spread in South Australia, and I’m quite confident about that,” she said.
As of Tuesday 26 May there have been a total of 440 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Australia, with one active cases in the state. Of that tally, 435 people have officially been cleared of the virus, with over 90,000 tests undertaken. Readers are advised to consult SA Health’s website for the latest information.
Read the state government’s COVID-19 recovery plan here
Walter is a writer and editor living on Kaurna Country.
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