Adelaide COVID-19 cluster grows to 17, states introduce border controls

Update : Tasmania, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, and Victoria have introduced border controls to travellers from South Australia this morning, but with different cut-off times and degrees of severity.

A COVID-19 cluster in Adelaide's northern suburbs has grown to 17 cases overnight sparking concerns about community transmission of the virus.

It comes after Western Australia immediately tightened its border to South Australians yesterday afternoon, within 1.5 days of reopening. Tasmania and the Northern Territory have both followed suit, while Queensland will declare all of Adelaide a COVID-19 "hotspot".

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has also designated South Australia as a COVID-19 "hotspot" but will not close his border to the state.

On the other hand, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has decided to keep her state's borders open to visitors from the Festival State.

The cluster has forced the closure of a number of businesses and schools as health workers scramble to trace contacts.

So far a Hungry Jack's in Port Adelaide, a primary school in Mawson Lakes, Thomas Moore College in Salisbury Downs, Parafield Plaza supermarket and an aged care facility have been shut down.

A number of public health alerts for other businesses, bus stops, and the Mantra hotel in the CBD have been issued today.

Speaking to ABC Radio Adelaide this morning, SA's chief public health officer Professor Nicola Suprrier said the growth of the cluster is "very serious".

"We had a lot of pathology testing done yesterday," Professor Spurrier told the broadcaster.

"We just kept getting positives coming off the machine."

Fifteen of the new cases are part of a family cluster linked to a worker in an Adelaide medi-hotel.

"We haven't got the genomics yet, but I'm absolutely certain it has come from a medi-hotel," Professor Spurrier told the ABC.

Two of the cases work in aged care and another works at the Port Adelaide Hungry Jack's restaurant.

Of yesterday's cases one is a woman in her 80s who tested positive at the Lyell McEwin Hospital (LMH) emergency department on Saturday 14 November.

As such, SA Health has asked anyone who was in the LMH emergency department between 5.30pm Friday 13 November and 4am Saturday 14 November who has not been contacted by SA Health should self-quarantine immediately.

In addition, anyone who was at Parafield Plaza Supermarket on Thursday 12 November between 10.30am and 11.30am should monitor for symptoms and get tested as soon as they appear.

The cases are the first instances of community transmission in SA since 15 April.

SA Health has established a mobile COVID-19 testing clinic in Parafield, open from 8am to 6pm all week.

States and territories introduce border controls

In response to the outbreak Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have essentially shut borders to South Australians.

South Australians coming into WA will have to be tested for COVID-19 on arrival in the state and self-quarantine for 14 days in a "suitable premise", bringing SA visitors in line with those from New South Wales and Victoria.

Travellers on a Qantas flight from Adelaide to Perth on Sunday will also be required to comply with the new orders.

The NT has declared SA a COVID-19 hotspot, meaning those arriving in the Territory must self-isolate for 14 days.

TAS's new border controls have been retroactively applied to Monday 9 November, with the state's Premier Peter Gutwein asking all those currently in the state from SA to self-isolate.

For new arrivals into TAS from SA they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival at a residence or in a hotel room.

TAS is not elevating SA to "medium risk", the category VIC currently sits in, but will be monitoring the situation as the day progresses.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced her state will stay open to travellers from SA, saying that other leaders need to have confidence in health officials to get outbreaks under control.

"At this stage we need to accept that we live with the virus, and imagine if there was a similar outbreak in New South Wales - we'd be arguing that that's no reason to cut off New South Wales from the rest of the country," Berejiklian said.

"We need to have confidence in our own systems and those in other states."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has designated South Australia as a COVID-19 hotspot, but it is not closing its borders.

Instead, visitors from SA will be interviewed when they arrive and may be tested for COVID-19. 

Queensland health authorities will declare all of Adelaide a COVID-19 "hotspot" from 11.59pm today.

As a result, anyone coming into Queensland who has been in South Australia since Monday of last week will need to go into hotel quarantine for 14 days. 

Public health alerts issued

If you visited any of the below locations duration the listed times, you do not need to self-quarantine but you should monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if symptoms appear.

Bus 500 from Salisbury Bus Interchange

• Friday 13 November,  6.30 am to 7.40 am
• Thursday 12 November,  6.30 am to 7.40 am
• Wednesday 11 November,  6.30 am to 7.40 am
• Tuesday 10 November,  6.30 am to 7.40 am
• Monday 9 November,  6.30 am to 7.40 am

Bus 502 from Internode Adelaide bus stop on Grenfell Street

• Friday 13 November,  4.15 pm to 5.30 pm
• Thursday 12 November,  4.30 pm to 5.30 pm
• Monday 9 November,  10.30 am to 11.30 am

Bus (GA1/GA2/GA3) from bus stop near train station

• Tuesday 10 November,  5.30 pm to 6.30 pm
• Saturday 7 November,  5.30 pm to 6.30 pm

Bus 411 from Salisbury Bus Interchange

• Monday 9 November,  11.30 am to 11.45 am

Salisbury Bus Interchange

• Monday 9 November,  11.30 am to 12.00 am
• Saturday 7 November,  6.30 pm

Elizabeth Shopping Centre

• Sunday 8 November,  11.00 am to 12.30 pm

Harris Scarf, Elizabeth Shopping Centre

• Sunday 8 November,  11.00 am to 12.30 pm
• Hollywood Plaza Surgery
• Saturday 14 November,  10.00 am to 11.00 am
• Friday 13 November,  7.15 am to 7.20 am
• Friday 3 November, 7.15 am to 7.20 am

Woolworths, Hollywood Plaza

• Saturday 14 November,  10.00 am to 11.00 am
• Friday 13 November,  10.00 am to 12.00 pm

The Aquadome, 1 Crockerton Road Elizabeth

• Saturday 14 November,  11.00 am to 1.30 pm

Hungry Jacks, 321 Commercial Road Port Adelaide

• Saturday 14 November,  12.00 am to 2.30 am
• Friday 13 November,  7.30 pm to 12.00 am

Mantra on Frome

• Friday 13 November,  7.40 am to 3.45pm
• Thursday 12 November,  7.30 am to 4.00 pm

Salisbury City Fruit Bowl, Salisbury

• Friday 13 November 10.00 am to 10.15 am

Ekam Indian Groceries, Enfield Plaza

• Friday 13 November,  1.30 pm to 4.30 pm

Parafield Plaza Supermarket

• Thursday 12 November,  10.30 am to 11.30 am

Star Discount Chemist, Hollywood Plaza

• Saturday 14 November, 10.00 am to 11.00 am

Mint Leaf Lounge, 6/121-131 Mawson Lakes Boulevard, Mawson Lakes

• Thursday 12 November, 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm

Updated at 9.32am AEDT on 16 November 2020.