South Australia plans six-day lockdown after 'highly contagious' COVID outbreak

South Australia plans six-day lockdown after ‘highly contagious’ COVID outbreak

South Australia on Wednesday declared a six-day lockdown to stamp out what the state premier described as a extremely contagious outbreak of the coronavirus illness that officers linked to a returned traveller from the UK.

Most companies will shut apart from some meals retailers, and other people shall be largely confined to their properties, because the state tries to keep away from a extra extreme breakout just like the one that every one however shuttered neighbouring Victoria for greater than 100 days.

“We need this circuit breaker, this community pause,” South Australian Premier Steven Marshall informed media on Wednesday.

“We are going hard and we are going early. Time is of the essence and we must act swiftly and decisively.”

The southern state, residence to simply underneath 1.eight million individuals, reported two new circumstances on Wednesday, taking the whole to 22. The cluster began to emerge on the weekend, representing the primary severe indicators of group transmission in South Australia since mid-April.

While the case numbers stay modest, Marshall stated the state wanted to behave rapidly as a result of the recognized virus pressure was “highly contagious with short incubation period and limited symptoms”.

Authorities stated on Wednesday {that a} lodge cleaner contracted the virus from a quarantined returned traveller from the United Kingdom. The cleaner then unfold the virus to her prolonged household in Adelaide, the state`s capital metropolis.

It was taking 24 hours or much less for a newly contaminated particular person to develop into infectious to others, authorities stated.

VIRULENT STRAIN

The South Australian authorities didn’t instantly reply to questions from Reuters in regards to the particular pressure on Wednesday.

Peter Collignon, an infectious ailments doctor and microbiologist at Canberra Hospital, stated given the virus was introduced in from an abroad traveller, it might not be a brand new pressure.

“It may be different to what has been prevalent in Australia but it isn`t any more deadly or contagious,” stated Collignon.

The lockdown, to take impact from midnight Wednesday, will imply individuals shall be restricted from going outdoors of their properties, with just one particular person per family allowed to go away every day, however just for particular functions.

Masks shall be required in all areas outdoors of the house.

All faculties, takeaway meals, pubs, cafes and universities shall be closed, together with the development trade, which has been allowed to function throughout previous lockdowns in Australia.

Australia`s Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly stated South Australian authorities had discovered secondary circumstances of COVID-19 have been spreading rapidly within the new outbreak.

“There are a range of options as to why that may be the case but at the moment we don`t have any evidence that the virus has changed in any way to become more infectious or more dangerous,” he stated.

Beach Energy , Santos , BHP and Whyalla Steel are amongst useful resource corporations with operations in South Australia. Beach Energy stated it won’t be hit by the lockdown whereas it was not clear whether or not others shall be impacted.

Elsewhere, Victoria state, which was the epicentre of Australia`s practically 28,000 circumstances till final month, clocked its 19th straight day of zero new circumstances.
New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital metropolis, reported zero native and 7 imported circumstances.

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