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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.
“To say that I am furious at the actions of this individual is an absolute understatement. The 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 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.
HOW DID THE INFECTIONS START IN SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA?
A security guard at a quarantine hotel, who also worked part-time at a pizzeria, in the Adelaide state capital, the Woodville Pizza Bar, was infected via a traveler who returned from the UK.
A second worker, not identified by authorities by name, at another quarantine hotel in the city was also infected. Authorities said the man told contact trackers that he had only bought a pizza at the same bar, when in fact they later discovered he worked multiple shifts there.
Authorities worked on the premise that the man had contracted the virus from a very short exposure while shopping for pizza, leading them to believe that he must have been exposed to a highly contagious strain.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS?
“If this person had been honest with the contact tracing teams, we would not have entered a six-day lockdown,” Marshall told a news conference in Adelaide on Friday.
A second consequence is that contact trackers now need to find and isolate an entirely new group of people who have had contact with the man.
“It is absolutely necessary that we act quickly over the next 24 to 36 hours to identify and locate these people so that we know that we have eliminated the risk of this particular strain spreading further into the community,” added Marshall.
HOW DID THE AUTHORITIES FIND OUT?
The contact tracing team sat down and interviewed the worker. Another team reviewed the information obtained in the interview, but was not satisfied with “the feeling they had of this,” said South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens at the conference.
The review team re-interviewed the man, who eventually revealed that he worked multiple shifts at the pizzeria.
Prime Minister Marshall said it was not yet clear what the man’s motivation was.
ARE THERE ANY PENALTIES FOR THOSE DECEPTIVE CONTACT TRACERS?
No, although the current law is likely to be revised.
“There is simply no mechanism for us to take additional action,” Marshall said.
IS SOUTH AUSTRALIA STILL OUT OF THE FORESTS?
No. Authorities are still trying to locate thousands of people who may have had a “dangerous contact” at Woodville Pizza Bar.
The state’s director of public health, Nicola Spurrier, also warned that the number of cases in South Australia would rise in the coming days, although those people are already isolated and not a threat to the wider community.
