South Australia Hit by Growing Cluster of Covid-19 Cases

(Bloomberg) -- South Australia state is battling a growing number of Covid-19 infections, with 17 cases now linked to a family cluster in the capital, Adelaide.

“It is a very, very dangerous situation we’re in,” state Premier Steven Marshall said Monday, urging residents to get tested if they had symptoms. He said his government would consider tougher social-distancing restrictions if necessary, adding “we will do whatever it takes to get on top of this cluster.”

He urged people to work from home if possible, wear masks when social distancing wasn’t feasible and cancel unnecessary travel plans, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

“What we are facing is, indeed, a second wave,” the ABC cited the state’s Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier as saying. “But we haven’t got the second wave yet.”

Spurrier said the cases were linked to a “medi-hotel” where one of the infected people worked. Such facilities are used by incoming travelers and local residents who can’t safely quarantine at home.

The outbreak in South Australia comes just after the nation’s eight states and territories dismantled internal border restrictions that have controlled the spread of the pandemic but weighed on the economy. Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, this month emerged from a three-month lockdown and has not recorded a new covid case for more than two weeks.

Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have declared South Australia a virus hotspot, meaning visitors from that state will be forced to isolate for 14 days on arrival.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who wants domestic border restrictions lifted as the nation heads into its peak summer holiday season, on Monday described the outbreak as “very concerning.”

The outbreak was a “wake-up call to the whole country, particularly to those states and territories that have been behind borders” and may have become complacent about complying with Covid-safe protocols due to their low levels of community transmissions, Morrison said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern indicated on Monday that the outbreak might dash hopes that her nation and Australia could introduce a quarantine-free “travel bubble” by Christmas to boost their respective travel industries, the NZ Herald reported.

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