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Prime Minister Steven Marshall indicated that a harsh lockdown for the state’s nearly two million residents would end late Saturday, at least two days earlier than planned.
Medical staff speak to people at a walk-in station at Parafield Airport in Adelaide during the first day of the statewide lockdown to combat COVID-19 on November 18, 2020. Image: AFP
ADELAIDE – South Australia’s six-day “circuit breaker” lockout will be broken, authorities said on Friday, blaming a pizza worker who misled contact trackers about how he contracted the virus.
Prime Minister Steven Marshall indicated that a harsh lockdown for the state’s nearly two million residents would end late Saturday, at least two days earlier than planned.
Marshall said a man who claimed to be a customer at a pizzeria, leading authorities to believe that the strain was virulent enough to be transmitted through a takeout box, actually worked there.
“One of the close contacts linked to the Woodville pizzeria deliberately misled our contact tracing team,” Marshall said. “Their story didn’t add up. We chased them. Now we know they lied.”
The man is unlikely to face charges, police said. “The Emergency Management Act requires people to provide information when requested,” said Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. “There is no penalty for not answering these questions honestly.”
Authorities stressed that the costly closure was still necessary and that the pizza shop’s customers should still show up for testing.
On Wednesday, they ordered the closure of schools, stores, pubs, factories and even takeout restaurants and stay-at-home orders were issued for residents across the state.
Since then, tens of thousands of tests have shown no new community transmission and the group totals just 25 cases, leading to allegations that authorities overreacted.
People in Adelaide and the rest of the state will be able to leave their homes immediately to exercise, with most other restrictions easing on Saturday night.
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