LET’S BEAT THIS THING
SOUTH TASSIE LOCKDOWN AS COVIDIOT REFUSES TO DISCLOSE HIS MOVEMENTS
TASMANIAN suburbs will head into a three-day lockdown to ensure a Covidpositive traveller, who has failed to disclose his whereabouts to authorities, doesn’t spread the virus any further.
Premier Peter Gutwein (right) announced on Friday that the south of Tasmania would go into an immediate lockdown.
THE reckless actions of one man have plunged half a state into lockdown.
Premier Peter Gutwein gave southern Tasmania three hours notice of a snap three-day lockdown to start at 6pm on Friday.
It has been confirmed the Delta variant of Covid-19 has arrived in the state – brought in by a NSW resident who escaped hotel quarantine and who refuses to tell the truth to contact tracers about his movements.
The lockdown announcement was accompanied by scenes of panic buying in supermarkets across southern Tasmania.
From 6pm on Friday, the residents of 12 council areas will be required to stay at home and only leave for five reasons: to shop for essential supplies within 5km of home; for medical help or to be tested or vaccinated; for exercise once a day within 5km of home; to care for the vulnerable; or in an emergency. Essential workers can attend work.
Masks will be required for all those outside of their homes.
Visiting homes, weddings and funerals have been restricted, public gatherings have been banned except on compassionate grounds and nonessential businesses ordered to close. Additional restrictions have been placed on interstate travel.
The West’s Coast’s The Unconformity Festival and ceremonies for the arrival of the new icebreaker RSV Nuyina are among the events which have been cancelled.
Schools will operate on Monday for the children of essential workers while university and high school exams scheduled for Monday will go ahead with social distancing.
Mr Gutwein apologised for the “short, sharp lockdown” but said there was no other choice.
“It’s unfortunate that we are in this position, I have to tell you that that’s been a very difficult decision to make,’’ he said.
“But we saw what occurred in Melbourne and Sydney where they acted too late. We simply cannot afford an outbreak to occur and put the health and safety of Tasmanians at risk while we get our vaccination rates up.
“We have had an individual that has been very difficult to deal with, that has not done the right thing, that has broken the law and has not been prepared to tell us the truth.”
The man at the centre of the outbreak is now known to have had 39 primary close contacts – one of whom broke quarantine and was arrested, fined and placed hotel quarantine. Another 19 people remain casual contacts. All those tested so far have returned negative results. It emerged the man visited a Montrose Park for two hours on the night he escaped.
Mr Gutwein said it appeared the man had escaped the Hobart Travelodge on Monday night either when a guard was away from his post while changing out of personal protective equipment – or out a window.
Given the offender’s lack of cooperation it is feared he may have visited as yet unknown locations.
The discovery on Thursday night that he was at Woolworths at Bridgewater on Wednesday afternoon has yielded another 80 potential contacts who were tracked via the Check-In Tas app.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said the next three days would be critical to containing any potential outbreak.
“I am not going to predict whether this will be only a three-day lockdown,” Dr Veitch said.
“There are some encouraging signs that we haven’t had any cases among secondary contacts so far, but we’re getting an increasing number of contacts.
“We have had difficulty getting clear, consistent and true information from the case and indeed, some of the contacts of the case we’ve got stories that don’t disclose all the information.
“So it’s been a very difficult contact tracing exercise.”
The premier urged people not to strip shelves of essentials.
“Supermarkets will remain open. There is no need to panic buy,” he said.
Vaccination and Covid testing clinics will operate for extended hours over the weekend and following days. The lockdown is due end at 6pm on Monday.
We have had an individual that has been very difficult to deal with ... that has broken the law and has not been prepared to tell us the truth Premier Peter Gutwein