Sth Australia starts short, sharp lockdown
SYDNEY: South Australia yesterday declared a sixday lockdown to stamp out what the state premier described as a highly contagious outbreak of the coronavirus disease that officials linked to a returned traveller from the United Kingdom.
Most businesses will close except for some food outlets, and people will be largely confined to their homes, as the state tries to avoid a more severe breakout like the one that all but closed Victoria for more than 100 days.
‘‘We need this circuitbreaker, this community pause,’’ South Australian Premier Steven Marshall told media.
‘‘We are going hard and we are going early. Time is of the essence and we must act swiftly and decisively.’’
The southern state, home to just under 1.8 million people, reported two new cases yesterday, taking the total to 22.
The cluster started to emerge at the weekend, representing the first serious signs of community transmission in South Australia since midApril.
Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said the strain had a ‘‘very, very short incubation period,’’ so when somebody was exposed to it it took just 24 hours or less for that person to become infectious.
Authorities said a hotel cleaner contracted the virus from a quarantined returned traveller from the UK. The cleaner then spread the virus to her extended family in Adelaide.
From midnight all schools would to close along with universities, pubs, cafes, food courts and takeaway food outlets.
Regional travel will be banned and aged care centres will go into lockdown.
Factories will close, along with the construction industry, and elective surgery will cease.
Wedding and funerals will be banned along with all outdoor sport and exercise, and masks will be required outside the home.
People will only be allowed to leave their homes once each day to buy groceries or to seek a Covid19 test or other medical treatment.
Supermarkets, petrol stations, medical centres, critical infrastructure, public transport, airport and freight services, banks, post offices, school and childcare for essential workers and veterinary services will be allowed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the lockdown was a ‘‘preemptive and temporary measure.
The federal government would continue to support SA in every way possible, he said.
The Commonwealth has already approved the deployment of more Australian Defence Force personnel to help with staffing at coronavirus testing stations.
Elsewhere yesterday, Victoria, 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 reported zero local and seven imported cases. — Reuters/AAP