The entire state was placed into lockdown at midnight Wednesday, as two more coronavirus cases were linked to the growing cluster in Adelaide’s north.
There are now 22 cases directly linked to the cluster, with a further seven cases suspected.
Aged care facilities across the state are now in lockdown, and South Australians have been advised to stay put in their homes for the next six days unless they are accessing essential services or are an essential worker.
Face masks are also required when outside the home, but are only encouraged, not mandatory, as many in SA do not yet have masks at this stage.
State at a critical point
SA Premier Steven Marshall (pictured above) said this six day ‘circuit breaker’ is the only way the state was going to be able to get on top of the growing cluster.
“We need breathing space for a contact tracing blitz to protect the elderly, to protect the vulnerable, to protect our entire community,” he said.
“There is no second chance to stop a second wave. We are at a critical point, but we will get through this.”
The state’s Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier also fronted the press, saying hard lockdown was the only way to avoid a second wave like that experienced in Victoria.
“If we leave this any longer… then we’re going to be in this for the long haul and we will be like the experience in Victoria, where we get increasing cases every single day, and we have to go into a significant lockdown for a very long period of time to snuff it out and to get rid of every last bit of community transmission,” she said.
19 days with no new cases or deaths in Victoria
Meanwhile, Victoria recorded its 19th consecutive day of no new coronavirus cases and no deaths.
This comes from over 17,354 tests processed in the 24 hours prior.
There are just three cases active in the state, and when asked why they had not yet been cleared, Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said:
“A number of those cases are quite elderly people who, out of an abundance of caution we are monitoring closely in hospital.”
“The good news is they have not been required to be in intensive care at all during that period. The medical advice is that we treat them very cautiously before we send them home.”
