South Australia as a whole has been relatively successful in containing the virus.
Sydney:
The drastic six-day coronavirus lockdown in South Australia was triggered by a “lie” to contact the tracers of a man who tested positive and statewide restrictions will be lifted much earlier than initially planned, authorities said. Friday.
The shocking announcement came just two days after the state government ordered people to stay home and close many businesses to combat what was seen as a highly contagious coronavirus outbreak.
South Australia’s Prime Minister Steven Marshall told a news conference in Adelaide that a man at a pizzeria linked to the outbreak told contact trackers that he had only bought a pizza there, when in fact he had worked. several shifts in the food establishment together with another worker who did the test. positive.
Authorities assumed the man, who was not identified, had contracted the virus during a very short exposure, leading them to believe that the strain must be highly contagious.
“Their story (of the man) didn’t add up. We persecuted them. Now we know they lied,” Marshall told reporters. “If this person had been honest with the contact tracing teams, we would not have entered a six-day lockdown.”
“To say that I am furious at the actions of this individual is an absolute understatement. These selfish actions of this individual have put our entire state in a very difficult situation.”
While the outbreak was still concerning, Marshall said the restrictions would be lifted early with a stay-at-home order ending at midnight Saturday, when most businesses could also open.
When asked what punishment the individual could face, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said there is “no punishment” for lying to trackers under current law, although it is likely to be reviewed.
“I think it’s obvious to say that this person’s actions have had a devastating impact on our community,” Stevens said. “The difficulties do not escape us.”
Stevens said a team that reviewed the information provided by the man to recruit trackers was not satisfied with “the feeling they got from this.” Stevens wouldn’t be attracted to the man’s likely motivation to fool the contact tracker.
Home to around 1.8 million people, South Australia has recorded 25 cases of the latter group, linked to a traveler who returned from the UK. The number of new cases in the state was expected to increase in the coming days.
The country as a whole has been relatively successful in containing the virus with only around 95 active cases currently.
The state of Victoria on Friday reported its 21 case-free day, a well-earned reward for a marathon shutdown of the country’s second-largest city, Melbourne.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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