[ad_1]
SYDNEY: South Australia’s drastic six-day lockdown was sparked by a “lie” to contact a single individual’s trackers and statewide restrictions would now be lifted much earlier than initially planned, authorities said Friday (November 20).
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 Australian state prime minister Steven Marshall told a news conference that a man at a pizzeria linked to the outbreak had lied to contact trackers, claiming he had only bought a pizza there when he was actually working at the store.
The authorities had thought that he had contracted the virus during a very short exposure, when in fact he had been working several shifts with another positive case.
Due to the lie, authorities believed that the virus strain was highly contagious, and that it took 24 hours or less for a newly infected person to infect other people.
“To say that I am furious at the actions of this individual is an absolute understatement,” Marshall told astonished reporters. “These selfish actions by 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 and the stay-at-home order would end at midnight Saturday, when most businesses could also open.
The state, home to around 1.8 million people, has recorded 25 cases of the latter group, linked to a traveler who returned from the UK.
The number of new cases was still expected to increase in the coming days, but the outbreak was not as alarming as initially feared.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
