Life under social isolation or mandatory "stay home orders".

Victoria has recorded zero new coronavirus cases for five days in a row after finally freeing itself from four months of lockdown.

Melbourne's beleaguered residents are even being told to 'go out and enjoy yourselves', a stark turnaround from the fearmongering of past weeks.

'I cannot tell people what to feel. I will say we deserve to enjoy ourselves now,' Sutton said at a briefing on the virus situation in the state as it emerges from long months of lockdown,' Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.

'We got to this incredible point where case numbers are very low and we have days of literally no true cases.

'So we should go out, with all the precautions we talked about, but we need to enjoy our lives after three months of really constrained activity.'

He advised Victorians to proceed with caution, wear a face mask and avoid interacting with people who appear unwell.

There are 71 active cases, which is down from 80 on Friday.

There is one mystery case without a known source in Melbourne and the city's average daily case count for the fortnight up to Saturday was 2.2.

No more Victorians died on Sunday, keeping the state's Covid-19 death toll at 819, and 907 for the nation.

Authorities have already turned their attention to Tuesday's Melbourne Cup public holiday and are urging people to celebrate in accordance with ongoing warnings.

'The great majority of Melburnians know what do to,' Mr Sutton said.

'There will be a few who may be a bit liberal in their behaviour. The key things are not being out when unwell, and obviously wearing masks.'

Some Melbourne office workers could be back in place before Christmas as Victoria's numbers remain low.

Mr Sutton said there would still be limits on the number of people allowed in offices, with 'concerning elements' of public transport and elevator use yet to be considered.

'If the numbers remain low then those risks become much less in the office space as well,' he said.

'Clearly there's an economic activity by virtue of return-to-work, especially here in the CBD, and that should be a consideration.'

For some Victorians, 'it will be a changed workforce forever', the expert noted, adding that many employers had already started making long-term arrangements.

On Monday, Premier Daniel Andrews posted a picture of himself to social media opening a box with a caramel-iced doughnuts saying 'today's a good day' to celebrate the end of lockdown.

Beneath the post, he uploaded a second photo of a Melbourne-made whisky Starward and two glasses, saying: 'Said I'd go a little higher up the shelf. Here's to you, Victoria.'

Despite a series of comments from residents happy to be free of most restrictions, the post was labelled 'tone deaf' by the families of coronavirus victims.

'There's still 800 Victorians who have died because of Covid — and it's because of him, and this second wave getting out of hand. He's totally responsible for this,' one user wrote.

'Deaths, job losses, business closures, bankruptcies, job losses and untold suffering. Well done,' another added.

Victoria free at last: What are the changes?
From Tuesday 27 October, 11.59pm

All retail, bars and restaurants open with 20 indoors and 50 outdoors

Beauty services and tattoo parlours open

Outdoor contact sport for under 18s back on and non-contact sport for adults

Four reasons to leave home removed

25km travel limit remains in place

Melbourne to regional VIC border remains

Outdoor gatherings up to 10 people

Gatherings can be of more than two households

Weddings increase to 10 attendees, funerals to 20

Church services open with 10 indoors and 20 outdoors

PT, fitness and dance classes can be held outdoors with up to 10 people

Number of people at outdoor pools can increase to 50, subject to density limits

Must work from home if you can

From 8 November

25km travel limit scrapped

Travel to regional VIC allowed

Retail, pubs and restaurants allowed 40 people indoors, 70 outdoors

Funerals allowed indoors with 20 and outdoors with 50

Non-contact sport for U18s allowed indoors

Gyms and indoor fitness will be able to reopen

Holiday accommodation to re-open

Religious gatherings will expand with up 20 people and a faith leader indoors, and 50 outside

Click to expand...

Victorians could soon ditch their face masks as the state recorded no new Covid-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day.

Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said on Sunday that face masks were only useful if there was community transmission.

'What we shouldn't be complacent about is thinking that if we've got a few days with no cases, that there is never a requirement for masks,' he said.

His comment followed the announcement Victoria had reported no new Covid-19 cases or deaths, marking the fourth 'double doughnut' day of zero new cases.

Mr Sutton would not elaborate how many days the state would need to go without any cases of Covid-19 before face masks were no longer necessary.

'It's not entirely clear,' he said.

'We've got a roadmap where we've talked about the 'Last Step' coming with 14 days of no new cases. That would be a significant achievement.

'It is absolutely not impossible and we're on track for that in November, that would be great. Twenty-eight days of no cases and no active cases, we've talked about as the 'Covid Normal Step'.

'That's also within reach and we'd make decisions about masks for those thresholds as well.'

Mr Sutton noted regional Victoria had gone without any new cases of Covid-19 for a few weeks though mask wearing was still in place over transmission concerns.

'Country Victoria went for a few weeks with zero cases but all the people of Shepparton, I'm sure, were very happy that they were wearing masks at the time that there were three active cases out in the community for over a week before we understood that they were active cases,' he said.

'So masks are important for those potential transmission events when we don't know that there's something out there.

'Clearly we will be transitioning … we will be transitioning from universal mask-wearing to maybe indoors only, to maybe just high-risk settings at the appropriate time.'

Mr Sutton also warned pubs and restaurants to follow Covid-19 safety measures, saying there were a number of venues that weren't following the rules.

'Do the right thing by your customers,' he said.

'As a customer, you should ask and you should question if you're not seeing that happen.

If you can't find the book where you record your name and details, ask for it. If you're seeing a waiter or a waitress without a mask, demand it. It is a case of calling industry up to the standards that we're setting.

'There are a few out there who are not.'

There is one mystery case of coronavirus without a known source in Melbourne and the city's average daily case count for the fortnight up to Saturday was 2.2.

It means the state's Covid-19 death toll remains at 819, and 907 for the nation.

There are just 61 active cases left across the state, down from 70 on Saturday.

Sunday's statistics coincide with Melbourne's gradual emergence from strict lockdown conditions, including a possible return to city offices before Christmas.

Nearly 16,000 tests were taken in the past 24 hours, with Professor Sutton saying it verified Sunday's result was a 'true zero'.

He said metropolitan Melbourne was still on track to ease restrictions on November 8 including the scraping of the 'ring of steel' dividing the city from the regions, along with the 25km travel limit.

'What allowances come on November 8 will absolutely be informed by what this week looks like,' he said.

'Some of the details might change but November 8 will be the date (of) that new refresh of public health directions.'

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The head of South Australia's coronavirus response says the state's hotel quarantine system is "close to capacity", as more positive cases enter the state from overseas.

New cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed six out of the past seven days among international travellers in Adelaide hotel quarantine.

State coordinator and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the medi-hotels system was nearing capacity, and that more people with the coronavirus were likely to come into the state from overseas.

But he was confident the system would continue to keep the South Australians safe.

"We are doing what we can to repatriate Australians, bringing them back to Australia," Commissioner Stevens said.

"It does mean when people are coming from countries throughout Europe now that are having second and third waves of the virus, we will be bringing people back who are carrying COVID-19.

"We probably are close to capacity [but] it fluctuates on a daily basis."

He said no-one would be brought into the state from overseas "unless we can safely manage them in a quarantine environment".

"We are working with the Federal Government in terms of trying to forecast when those flights are arriving so that we don't actually exceed our capacity," Commissioner Stevens said.

All of SA's current active cases are in hotel quarantine
The state now has 14 known active cases of coronavirus in medi-hotels, including four new cases recorded yesterday.

Each of those people is staying in one of six Adelaide hotels, which have 1,200 single beds.

"It is understandable that people might be concerned about new cases within the medi-hotel environment," Commissioner Stevens said.

"But that's the reason we have these quarantine hotels."

He acknowledged that every returning traveller is taken into hotel quarantine in Adelaide comes into contact with South Australians, bringing an element of risk.

"They're being treated by nurses and doctors, they are received by police officers, we have people transporting them from the airport — every time, there is a level of engagement," Commissioner Stevens said.

"Every time there is an element of engagement, there is an element of risk.

"But we're doing as much as we can to reduce that risk … we have strict protocols in place."

He added that South Australia was making a "substantial contribution" to the repatriation of Australians, relative to the state's size.

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NSW health authorities say a new case of COVID-19 linked to the Hoxton Park cluster in south-west Sydney has been reported since 8:00pm yesterday.

The case will be included in tomorrow's reporting of NSW virus numbers as 8:00pm marks the cut-off time for NSW Health's official reporting period.

There were also four positive tests in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.

That brings the total number of infections in NSW to 4,236.

NSW Health said the new case was a child who visited the Flip Out Prestons Indoor Trampoline Park at the same time as another child who had since tested positive for the virus.

The children visited the trampoline park on Sunday, October 25.

NSW Health's Christine Selvey said anyone who visited the trampoline park on that day from 11:00am to 2:00pm is considered a close contact and must get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days.

There had been an increase in the number of people coming forward for testing, Dr Selvey added.

"There were 14,751 tests reported to 8:00pm last night, compared with 13,134 the day before," she said.​

NSW Health is again calling for anyone, including staff, who visited Jasmins Lebanese Restaurant in Liverpool on Sunday, October 25 between 2:00pm and 3.30pm to get a test immediately.

Contact tracing has been done for a person who went to the restaurant while infectious, but the details of some others who were there at the time have not been found.

NSW Health said anyone who went there on October 25 for at least an hour during that time is considered a close contact who needs to get tested and isolate for 14 days.

Anyone who went to Spendless Shoes at Westfield in Liverpool on October 28 between 4:00pm and 4:20pm should also monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop, as they are considered a casual contact.

It comes as Australia recorded no locally caught coronavirus cases country-wide today for the first time in almost five months.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the National Incident Centre advised it was the first time the country had achieved the feat since June 9.

In a tweet about the good news, Mr Hunt praised healthcare workers and the Australian public for reaching the milestone.

Click to expand...

A second child has caught COVID-19 from another child at a Sydney trampoline park.

Officials say it's the sixth case linked to a cluster in Hoxton Park, in the city's south west.

The child was at Flip Out Prestons last Sunday, October 25 at the same time as the infectious child.

Anyone who was at the centre from 11am to 2pm that date is considered a close contact and should have a coronavirus test and isolate for 14 days since the exposure, NSW Health officials said.

However, the new case wasn't found in time for today's reported figures, which was zero local cases. It will be counted tomorrow.

It marked a milestone not seen since June, Health Minister, Greg Hunt said in a tweet.

It's the first day since June 9 there have been no locally caught cases in any part of Australia.

Minister Hunt thanked, "our amazing health and public health workers and above all else the Australian people."

Meanwhile, four Australians returning to the country who are in hotel quarantine have been diagnosed, with almost 15,000 tests done in the past day.

There is one person in intensive care in the state with the virus.

Meanwhile a testing clinic in south-west Sydney has reopened after being closed due to flooding after heavy rain swept across the city.

The drive-through centre at Ash Road Sporting Complex, Prestons, has now resumed testing.

Officials appealed for more people from the area to go for a coronavirus test.

A fresh appeal has also been made for anybody who dined at Jasmins1 Lebanese Restaurant in Liverpool last Saturday, from 2pm to 3.30pm to get tested immediately.

Also anybody who was at Spendless Shoes at Westfield Liverpool on 28 October from 4-4.20pm should be tested if they develop symptoms.

Victoria recorded no new cases or deaths today.

Queensland has two cases in hotel quarantine

Click to expand...

Key points:
Victoria had seven days of zero COVID-19 cases this week
The NSW chief health officer said the virus may have been eliminated once in Sydney already
Data has shown that when cases climb over 40 a day, contact tracers become swamped

Coronavirus could "die out" in Australia entirely if New South Wales and Victoria stay on their current trajectory of low infections, according to two leading epidemiologists.

The two states are responsible for 90 per cent of the country's COVID-19 cases and 96 per cent of deaths.

But as new infections flatline in Victoria after a months-long lockdown, and cases dwindle in NSW amid rampant contact tracing, some experts have now admitted COVID-19 could be eliminated in Australia, despite the fact it has never been the national strategy.

Yesterday Victoria recorded its seventh straight day of no new cases and NSW has recorded nine cases since Monday.

Hassan Vally, an epidemiologist from La Trobe University, said new infections should continue to be contained.

"NSW is the model, we have a low number of cases, the public health response stamps on any clusters and you keep everything under control," he said.

"No-one knows what will happen over the next week in Victoria, but it's not outside the bounds of possibility that we will see zero cases for another week or so and then technically we've eliminated the virus."

Suppression, rather than elimination, was the goal of Victoria's stage-four lockdown, while NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has long maintained residents must learn to live with COVID-19 until a vaccine is found.

Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said while "thin lines" of transmission could still happen, it was also possible that COVID-19 dies out in Australia.

She said the key was tracing known cases.

"Every time we do that, we are narrowing down and getting rid of another little set of chains of transmission," Professor Bennett said.

"Even if the virus is out there, it is more likely to die out than spread."

Earlier this week, Ms Berejiklian said NSW Health modelling showed Victoria may have eliminated coronavirus.

"They may have, because of the lockdown, actually gone down a path of having eliminated it at this point in time," Ms Berejiklian said.

At the same press conference, NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said COVID-19 had likely already been eliminated once in Sydney already before a cluster sparked by an infected worker from Victoria spread at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula.

"Our data suggests we did not have any circulating virus until we had the seeding event back in late June early July," Dr Chant said.

Flattening the curve, again
Australia's two most populous states have been on very different COVID-19 trajectories throughout the pandemic.

The ABC has charted the key coronavirus moments, from the Ruby Princess docking in Sydney on March 19, to the day Melbourne's public housing towers were shut down as the Victorian Government desperately tried to contain the second wave.

These graphs outline how, by the third week of May, lockdowns in NSW and Victoria had successfully flattened their curves.

Professor Bennett said that should have been a turning point for Victoria.

"We got down to 10 cases a day, that should have been manageable, even with our antiquated contact tracing systems we did shut that [transmission] down, even though we had some new cases emerging," she said.

However, on May 27, a staff member at Rydges Hotel on Swanston in Melbourne tested positive for the virus, sparking a "multi-site seeding event" that eventually lead to Victoria becoming Australia's worst-affected coronavirus state.

Victoria's situation also lead to a return of the virus in NSW, when an infected transport worker from Melbourne visited the Crossroads Hotel on July 3.

The cluster, discovered two days after the NSW-Victoria border was closed, would eventually grow to 57 people.

However, according to Professor Bennett, NSW had one crucial advantage in suppressing its second wave — a "heads up".

"With the second wave taking off [in Victoria], NSW were waiting for the virus to jump the border and they jumped on it," she said..

During their respective second waves, the focus in NSW and Victoria has been on tracing mystery coronavirus cases — where someone tests positive to COVID-19, but the source of their infection remains unknown.

Dr Vally said once the case numbers reach a certain level, contact tracing can't keep up, no matter how good the public health system is.

This chart shows the difference between total case numbers, mystery case numbers, and the final tally of mystery cases in the Victorian second wave.

The data shows that when cases climbed over 40 a day, more and more cases were classified as having an unknown source or were under investigation, as contact tracers became swamped.

It was not until the middle of September, when daily case numbers were again averaging around 38, that the number of mystery cases fell under 10.

In NSW, the number of mystery cases peaked at 28 on April 1, but from then on it was rarely over 10 per day.

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Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed the 25-kilometre travel limit in Melbourne and the "ring of steel" separating the city from regional Victoria will be lifted, as part of a widespread relaxation of restrictions in the city.

The restrictions will be lifted from 11:59pm tonight.

It means the rules that are currently in place for regional Victoria will apply to the entire state.

"Victoria will be once again united as one single state," Mr Andrews said.

It is the first time all of Victoria has been on the same restrictions level since late June, when 10 Melbourne postcodes were locked down as the second wave was spreading.

The state has had nine consecutive "double doughnut" days of no new infections or coronavirus deaths, bringing the rolling 14-day average down to just 0.4.

There are now just four confirmed active cases across the entire state.

From tomorrow, restaurants and pubs will have their density limits increased to 40 patrons indoors and 70 outside.

Gyms and indoor sports centres will be able to operate with up to 20 people, subject to strict density limits.

Religious ceremonies will be increased to 50 people outside. However, this change will not apply to weddings, for which the cap of 10 people plus the couple, celebrant and photographer will remain.

Theatres and cinemas can also reopen, with 20 patrons per space.

Home visitor restrictions slightly eased
Victorians will be allowed to have two different adult visitors and their dependents per day, either together or separately.

Previously, Melburnians could only have up to two adults from the same household in a home.

Intimate partners or people who normally live at the home continue to be excluded from the two-person limit.

Hospital and care facility visitation restrictions have been slightly relaxed to allow one household to visit a patient or resident for up to two hours.

Previously, visitors had only been allowed if they had specific exemptions.

Tourist accommodation across the state will now be open, with limits in place for who can make bookings.

Mr Andrews said a tourism campaign would be launched to encourage people to visit Gippsland, which was hit hard by bushfires over the summer.

There is no change to the rules on public gatherings, meaning up to 10 people from any number of households can continue to meet in public. Infants under one year old are still excluded from the cap.

Workforce caps have been lifted for the meat, poultry and seafood processing industries, but strict COVID-safe rules must continue to be followed.

Those who can work from home must continue to work from home under the new rules.

"The time will come when we can change that but that is not now," Mr Andrews said.

Masks to remain mandatory for foreseeable future
Mask-wearing will remain mandatory in public, which Mr Andrews called an "insurance policy".

Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said the Government had gone beyond public health advice by keeping masks mandatory for the foreseeable future.

"Of course we're going to need masks where you can't socially distance. You're going to want to use them on public transport and at the shops and supermarkets," he said.

"But if you're walking the dog or playing golf or by yourself, do you really need to wear a mask?

"As the weather warms up, the Government needs to move on mask rules otherwise they risk Victorians just not paying them much attention."

He said the different rules for the numbers of people who could attend pubs and funerals did not make sense.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said masks could "reduce the risk significantly" of people transmitting the virus, especially before they developed symptoms.

"There will be a time when we change the settings on masks, but they are useful because they reduce transmission from anyone who might have an infection," he said.

"Nine days of zero is utterly fantastic, but there can be individuals who haven't been identified."

Professor Sutton said: "The best assumption to make is that there are more cases out there and we need to continue testing to find them."

Next step set to be taken on November 22
Further restrictions are set to be lifted at 11:59pm on November 22 if cases remain low, including allowing up to 10 people at indoor private gatherings and up to 50 outdoors.

Density quotients are expected to be lifted for sport and recreation.

Up to 100 people will be allowed at weddings and funerals and density limits for sport and recreation will be relaxed further.

But the rules for masks look set to remain in place beyond November 22.

Mr Andrews again urged Victorians to stay vigilant and continue to be tested for even mild symptoms.

"Nine days of zero is not the same as a vaccine," Mr Andrews said.

The Government has shifted its slogan from "staying apart keeps us together" to "stay safe, stay open".

"Today is the day to be positive and optimistic about the future, but the constant refrain has got to be, stay safe in order to stay open," Mr Andrews said.

State of emergency remains in place, state of disaster to be lifted
Victoria has been living under both a state of disaster and a state of emergency for months.

Mr Andrews said the state of disaster, which was introduced when the citywide curfew and other measures came into place under stage 4 lockdown, would not be extended.

"Because while the virus is still with us, we will be in a place where we do not need to have that legislative instrument in place any longer, and that's good news," he said.

The state of emergency, which has been in place since March, will be extended.

Read the Premier's full statement:
Nothing about this year has been easy.

But the hardest thing of all has been missing the people we love most.

Collectively, we've missed the big moments and the small.

Birthdays and barbeques. Special dinners and cups of tea.

Those things we didn't even know we'd miss — until we realised just how precious they really were.

But we did it. Because staying apart meant keeping each other safe.

Today, because of that sacrifice, our state can be whole again. Families will be whole again too.

From 11:59pm tonight, the boundary between Melbourne and regional Victoria will come down.

The 25-kilometre limit will no longer be in place.

And Victorians will be able to make up for lost time with loved ones.

There're some other changes too.

The rules that currently apply to regional Victoria will apply to the whole state — wherever you live.

For Melbourne, that means visits to the home will be relaxed — a little.

You can still only have a maximum of two people to visit per day. Going forward though, those two people don't need to be from the same household, and they'll be able to come at different times.

It's really important that people stick within these rules. The data is very clear on this: so many of our recent outbreaks were connected to home visits

Home is where we relax, where we feel comfortable — which is precisely why it's so dangerous.

There'll be other changes for Melbourne too. Restaurants, pubs and cafes will be able to host up to 40 customers indoors and 70 outdoors.

Gyms and indoor sporting facilities can open with up to 20 — subject to strict density limits. Indoor sport for those 18 and under can recommence.

Indoor religious ceremonies will be increased to 20, with 50 allowed outside. The same numbers will apply to funerals, but there's no change to weddings — for now.

Community spaces like libraries or RSLs and neighbourhood houses can have up to 20 indoors, with groups of up to ten.

And accommodation will be able to open — because frankly, Victorians have earned a break.

There are some other changes that we've been able to bring forward.

From tonight, and across the state, indoor entertainment venues will be able to open with 20 people per space.

That means movie theatres, galleries, museums and music halls will now be able to open.

Something that I know will mean a whole lot to a whole lot of families, the rules around visiting aged care and hospitals will also be relaxed.

Instead of a specific number of visitors — a household will be able to visit together. Once per day and limited to two hours.

Those under 16 will also be able to visit hospitals. And the time limit for partners visiting maternity wards will no longer exist.

Individual hospitals and facilities though may continue to have their own policies — reflecting the needs of their patients and whatever the virus might be doing in our community.

Reflecting the progress we've made — the State of Disaster will not be renewed. But because the virus is still very much with us, the State of Emergency will be extended until 6 December to allow the Chief Health Officer's directions to remain in force.

From 22 November — and in line with the public health advice — Victoria is on track to reach the Last Step in our roadmap towards reopening.

Private gatherings will be able to increase to 10 people.

Gatherings for religious services, weddings and funerals will also increase too.

Our hospitality venues will be able to have up to 100 indoors, 200 outside.

There'll also be increases for other indoor venues like cinemas and gym and galleries.

More detail about other changes will be made available online.

Of course, in getting there — we'll continue to rely on the advice of our public health experts.

And we'll continue to rely on the efforts of every Victorian.

By now everyone knows the drill when it comes to keeping safe — so I won't waste words. But I will say this:

We have worked so hard. We have given up so much. And together, we've come so far.

We've got to protect it.

So, let's stay safe, stay open — and keep going.

Click to expand...

New South Wales has recorded no new cases of locally-transmitted COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
A further3 cases were found among overseas travellers who are in hotel quarantine..

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Key points:
Alerts remain in place for Moss Vale, Mittagong and Bowral in the Southern Highlands
People in south-western Sydney around Hoxton Park are also being asked to keep vigilant
The NSW Government has extended its preschool support during coronavirus for all of 2021

NSW Health says there have been no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 in the latest reporting period.
This follows two days of cases emerging in the Southern Highlands, with no known links to the source of the infections.

It comes as a health alert is issued for the Rouse Hill area, north-west Sydney, after COVID-19 traces were found in the local sewage system.

NSW Health said virus fragments had been detected in samples taken last Thursday, from a catchment area that covers 120,000 people.

The alert has been issued for the following suburbs:

Quakers Hill,
Castle Hill,
Annangrove,
Kellyville,
Box Hill,
Kenthurst,
Glenhaven,
The Ponds,
Rouse Hill,
North Kellyville,
Kellyville Ridge,
Beaumont Hills,
Stanhope Gardens,
Baulkham Hills,
Glenwood,
Bella Vista,
Parklea,
Acacia Gardens and Norwest.

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1325294482821054465/photo/1

People are being urged to remain vigilant for symptoms.

There were three cases confirmed in today's update among overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.

Meanwhile, health authorities are continuing to investigate the Moss Vale infections.

Cases include one from Moss Vale Public School and another from the Southern Highlands Early Childhood Centre.

A staff member at the Wingecarribee Civic Centre in Moss Vale also tested positive.

NSW Health is continuing to urge people in the Southern Highlands region, including Moss Vale, Mittagong and Bowral, to come forward for testing with even the mildest of symptoms.

The same message applies to Leppington, Hoxton Park and Prestons in south-western Sydney, which also recently experienced a number of infections.

Pop-up testing clinics have been set up across the alerted regions, NSW Health said.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was pleased NSW had recorded no community-acquired COVID-19 cases and that 13,721 people had come forward for testing.

But also she urged more people to get tested.

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Come midnight tomorrow, Western Australia's hard border will finally start to soften.

And already visitors are highly anticipated, with more police deployed to road checkpoints and an extra 4000 arrivals a week expected through Perth Airport.

Authorities have warned that new arrivals providing false information could go to jail.

Medical experts fear that a new arrival with COVID-19 could spark a second wave, and that the state is not equipped to handle it.

"I say without fear of contradiction that if we had an outbreak similar to what happened in Victoria, we would be in a much worse situation than Victoria," Australian Nursing Federation Secretary Mark Olson said.

Medicos claim contact tracing methods need improvement, and that protective masks are sitting dormant in warehouses.

But the results will be seen when the borders open at midnight.

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Campers and caravans are on the move in South Australia as the WA hard border is set to come down early on Saturday morning.

For some families, it's been an emotional trek to reunite with their loved ones.

Newcastle couple Pete and Kim Mackie haven't seen their children and grandchildren in Perth for 11 months, and said they've skipped the sightseeing through South Australia to take the direct route to be with their family.
<< a 4000km direct road trip , one that I'd be reluctant to do myself at this time of the year , places along the most direct road trip have been recording over 40 degC during the days this week and will only get hotter - I hope their 4x4 or campervan is airconditioned. >>

"Hopefully I won't hurt them with how hard I'm going to hug them," Ms Mackie said.

"I've read and heard how much harder it is for other people, it's been so difficult to get across there.

"We've been gobsmacked with how difficult they've made it for people."

'It's been a dream to get to WA'
For Imogen Drynan, it's been a 10-year dream for her family to get to Western Australia.

Her husband usually works seasonally in the west, and she says it's been a financial cost for the family.

"I've also been applying for work [in WA], but because I've been locked out I haven't had much luck," she said.

"Once I'm in the door, I think it'll be easier for me to get a job as a teacher."

Ms Drynan applied to relocate a couple of times during the pandemic — but she said it was hard due to government restrictions.

"We were told if we didn't have a job or a place to live or own a house we couldn't get in," she said.

"It's been really hard on us and the kids [but] we're looking forward to warmer weather."

Can't wait to explore
For travelling couple Pete Grummisch and Annette Mol, their trip around Australia with their three-year-old son Irie was brought to a standstill during COVID-19, staking out at Streaky Bay when the pandemic hit.

"There was a mass exodus in March at the caravan park," Ms Mol said.

"Everyone left when the border announcements started happening.

"There was this real panic. We were one of a few families left at Streaky."

The couple picked up work in the isolated town in the meantime, and say they're now so excited to see Western Australia — a state they haven't yet explored.

72-hour dash
Ella Wallwork and Natasha Phillips have also been making a dash across South Australia.

They are returning to Perth after living in Victoria for a year and a half and experiencing two lockdowns in Melbourne.

"We've got 72 hours to leave the state so we've been dashing across," Ms Wallwork said.

"We've had a bit of trailer problems close to Bordertown — luckily we've had very helpful people fix it up for us so we can keep sailing through to the WA border.

"We were so surprised with the hard border and just so excited to see our family back in Perth."

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New Zealand health authorities have revealed two new community cases of COVID-19, including one without a known transmission source.

Aucklanders are being urged not to panic after New Zealand health authorities announced a new case of COVID-19 in the community without a link to the country's border regime.

It is the first case that cannot be drawn to the country's managed isolation (MIQ) facilities since August, when a new cluster formed and infected 179 people, killing three.

COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said it was too soon to suggest the infected person would trigger an outbreak.

"Panic never helps with COVID-19. We're still in the very early stages of this case investigation," he said.

Mr Hipkins said the afternoon would be spent gathering more information about the case and the person's movements, with a further update at 5pm NZDT on Thursday.

That could include a decision on whether to return Auckland to lockdown, as occurred for 16 days in August.

The newly infected person is a student at Auckland University of Technology, who resides in the Auckland CBD.

Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said the person "lives alone and appears to have had limited community outings recently".

However they did go to work from Sunday to Wednesday while infectious - at 'A-Z Collections', a CBD fashion boutique.

Given the person was tested on Tuesday afternoon, they have acted against advice to self-isolate while displaying symptoms.

Dr Bloomfield refused to criticise the person for doing so, saying it was too early to reach conclusions.

"This is a very important reminder of why anyone with any symptoms of a cold or flu get tested and our request is to stay home until you get the results of that test," he said.

University of Auckland professor Shaun Hendy said the case was "quite concerning".

"If a link can't be established then we may be looking at a larger outbreak and this might require raising the alert level in Auckland," he said.

Mr Hipkins also refused to criticise, saying "people are not the problem. People are the solution. It is the virus that is the problem".

The person has been moved to Auckland's quarantine facility, the Jet Park Hotel.

New Zealand also recorded a second community case on Thursday in Wellington, an already-isolating close contact of a defence force worker with links to a quarantine facility.

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Victoria has recorded zero new coronavirus cases for 14 consecutive days, reaching the state’s timeline target 10 days ahead of schedule.

Premier Daniel Andrews says the state’s rolling average has now reached zero, with just one mystery case.

“We’ve seen testing numbers this week that have been truly impressive, and they truly are the key, the absolute key to us keeping these numbers low,” he said.

“Can I just thank every single Victorian for the very serious way in which they are acknowledging that unless we stay safe we won’t stay open.

“Unless we all work very hard to play our part and be vigilant then this wildly infectious and silent enemy will be back."

Mr Andrews also announced the Victorian government will allocate $155 million in the upcoming state budget to establish the Australian Institute of Infectious Disease.

“This will be the biggest of its kind anywhere in our region, it will be a national centre,” he said.

The premier flagged discussions were underway with the Commonwealth government to provide a further $250 million in federal funding.

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The Age logo'Double doughnut fortnight': Victoria records 14 straight days with no new COVID cases, no further deaths.


Victoria has achieved a key milestone of 14 consecutive "double doughnut" days with no new COVID-19 cases and no further deaths in the wake of its catastrophic second coronavirus wave.

"There are just three active cases across the state and no new cases. That's the 14th day in a row of no new cases across our state," Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday morning as he announced the state government will invest $155 million in a new Australian Institute of Infectious Disease in Melbourne.

"We've seen test numbers this week that have been truly impressive, and they really are the key," he added, thanking the 12,001 Victorians who were tested in the past 24 hours. There is just one mystery case with no known source of infection.

The state's 14-day rolling case average has now dropped to zero, hitting the target about 10 days earlier than the state government's original modelling.

It is a milestone that puts pressure on the Andrews government to speed up the further easing of restrictions as the weather heats up and Victorians eagerly reunite with family and friends.

But Mr Andrews said the easing of restrictions would not be brought forward and that Victorians would have to wait until next Sunday, November 22, for an announcement.

"I'd love to make all sorts of announcements today that all sorts of restrictions are off but it would not be safe," he said. "Fourteen days of zero is not the same as having a vaccine ... it is only one incubation period of the virus."

While Victoria now has a 14-day average of zero new cases, Mr Andrews said recording no cases every day was not the aim. "The aim is to have as low a numbers as possible and be able to stop the spread of this virus as we take safe and cautious steps to open up," he said.

The Andrews government has repeatedly said that it is not pursuing an elimination strategy.

Doherty Institute director Sharon Lewin, who is a member of the Victorian COVID Advisory Group, said the 14 days of no new cases was "fantastic news".

"We have reached one incubation period with no infections," she said. Professor Lewin added that mandatory masks would not be required if there was no community transmission.

Mr Andrews said masks would not be required forever, but the face coverings were a low-cost infection prevention measure that acted like an insurance policy. "They serve an important purpose," he said.

Victoria's next steps
The government's road map out of lockdown states that Victoria will take the last step towards COVID-normal when it records no new cases for more than 14 days. Its original modelling predicted that this milestone would not be achieved until about November 23.

Under the initial plan, public gatherings were set to increase to 50 people outdoors and up to 20 visitors a time in homes.

The government's updated plan for easing at 11.59pm on November 22 scaled back the number of people allowed in homes to 10 visitors but maintains gatherings of 50 people outdoors.

Weddings and funerals would be allowed with 100 people or 10 in a private residence and organised contacts sports would resume for all ages with limitations for spectators.

When asked on Thursday about the possibility of bringing forward announcements about the easing of restrictions, Health Minister Martin Foley said the government wanted to take "a careful, cautious approach".

"Each step of the way, has been marked and run by data and science, and that will continue," he said.

Back in September, health experts expressed doubt that Victoria would hit the hard targets for reopening before Christmas.

Professor Jodie McVernon, the director of epidemiology at Melbourne's Doherty Institute, warned The Age at the time that requiring zero cases for a fortnight would be difficult to achieve. She said she was heartened by the fact that it did not appear to be a hard target.

"If they were, I would be very concerned that we might never reach them," Professor McVernon said.

On Friday, Mr Andrews promised the state government would put $155 million towards the establishment of a $550 million Australian Institute of Infectious Disease in Melbourne's Parkville biomedical precinct. The institute will be tasked with leading the fight against future pandemics and is expected to be completed by 2025.

Funding is being sought from the federal government, and the University of Melbourne and its partners will also heavily invest in the institute, which will be built next to the Peter Doherty Institute. The facility will house experts from the University of Melbourne, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and biotechnology giant CSL, and become the new home of the Burnet Institute, which is currently based at The Alfred hospital.

"This will be the biggest of its kind, anywhere in our region. It will be a national centre," Mr Andrews said.

"This is our future. This pandemic has exposed some weaknesses ... things like insecure work, things like global supply chain insecurity and many many things. It's up to us to turn those challenges into clear opportunities."

Once established it is hoped the institute will create 850 direct jobs and support up to 5000 jobs.

Victoria's much-watched 14-day rolling average falls to zero
The last time Victoria had a 14-day case average of zero was on February 22. Back then only four cases had been confirmed statewide and there had been three weeks in a row of no new cases, a streak that was broken when two returned travellers tested positive for the virus the following day.

During the first wave of infections, the 14-day average reached 64 in early April, but by early May had dipped as low as 4.2. It would be more than five months before the figure tapped this low-point again.

When case numbers started to rise again at the start of the state's deadly second wave, the Andrews government introduced a raft of new restrictions.

Ten postcodes re-entered lockdown on July 2 when the state's 14-day average was 37.8 new daily cases. When the rest of metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell shire followed suit one week later on July 9, the 14-day average had risen to 83 new cases per day.

When masks become mandatory on July 23 it was 283, and when Melbourne was plunged into an even stricter lockdown on August 2, the 14-day average had climbed to 408 new cases per day.

In the first couple of weeks of August, the state was averaging 450 new cases per day. But then the numbers started to come down.

By the time the state government's plan for reopening was set out on September 6, the 14-day average had dropped to 97 new cases a day. That's also the day the 14-day average became a crucial measure for Victorians, because many of the reopening targets were tied to the 14-day average being driven below certain thresholds.

Exactly two months ago, the state's 14-day average was 61.3, and one month ago it was 10.4.

When shops and cafes reopened their doors on October 28, the 14-day average was 2.7. On that day two new COVID-19 cases were confirmed statewide, on the October 29 there were three and on October 30 there were four.

That date - exactly two weeks ago - was the last time a new coronavirus case was confirmed in Victoria.

Goodbye to the office
The Premier declared on Friday that the days of entire workforces flocking to city offices was over.

"The notion that every worker will be spending every hour where they used to work is gone," he said. "That won't be the function of rules, that will be the function of the choices people will make after spending the best part of a year working from home."

He said people enjoyed working from home because they got to spend more time with their family, and less time commuting to work.

According to the Premier, office environments, particularly lifts and tea rooms, are "very, very challenging".

"This is fragile, this is not over, it is still out there, the active assumption has got to be that there is still virus out there," he said.

"Inside is 20 times more dangerous than outside."

He said the government was keen to get people back to the office as soon as possible, but it had to be done safely, otherwise it would compromise everything Victorians had worked so hard for.

The Premier acknowledged that the situation would create more pain for CBD businesses, who rely on foot traffic from office workers.
.

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9News.com.au logoNSW records sixth day of zero community transmission

NSW Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard© AAP NSW Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard
No new cases of locally acquired cases of COVID-19 have been detected in NSW for the sixth day in a row.

One new virus case has been diagnosed in hotel quarantine.

NSW Health is currently treating 73 cases of COVID-19 and there have been a total of 4293 cases since the pandemic began.

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9News.com.au logoNSW records sixth day of zero community transmission

NSW Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard© AAP NSW Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard
No new cases of locally acquired cases of COVID-19 have been detected in NSW for the sixth day in a row.

One new virus case has been diagnosed in hotel quarantine.

NSW Health is currently treating 73 cases of COVID-19 and there have been a total of 4293 cases since the pandemic began.


A large number of suburbs remain on alert today after positive traces of COVID-19 were detected in wastewater in Moss Vale, Bowral and Rouse Hill.

NSW Covid hotspots: list of Sydney and regional case locations

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The Guardian logoNSW Covid hotspots: list of Sydney and regional case locations

a group of people that are standing in the grass: Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
New South Wales health authorities have released a list of hotspots where Covid-positive people have visited while infectious.

Those who attended some locations must isolate immediately for 14 days, others must monitor for symptoms.

Here’s an overview of the state’s current hotspots and what to do if you’ve visited them. More detailed information is available at the NSW Health website.

a group of people wearing costumes: A pop-up coronavirus testing clinic at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney as the NSW. Check our full list of regional and Sydney Covid-19 hotspots and case locations.© Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP A pop-up coronavirus testing clinic at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney as the NSW. Check our full list of regional and Sydney Covid-19 hotspots and case locations.
List of case locations in NSW
If you have visited the following locations then you are considered a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days since you were there, and stay isolated for the entire period, even if a negative test result is received.

Jasmin1 Lebanese Restaurant, Bankstown: 6:30pm to 9pm on Thursday 22 October. Anyone who attended the upstairs function room.
Jasmins Lebanese Restaurant, Liverpool: 2pm to 3:30pm on Sunday 25 October, 4pm to 9pm on Monday 26 October, 3pm to 8pm on Saturday 31 October and 9am to 1.45pm on Sunday 1 November. Anyone who attended for less than one hour during these times and dates is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop
F45 gym, 1640 Camden Valley Way, Leppington: 5.15pm to 6pm on Thursday 15 October, 8.10am to 9.10am on Saturday 17 October, 8.55am to 9.40am on Sunday 18 October, 5.50am to 6.35am on Monday 19 October, 5.50am to 6.35am on Tuesday 20 October, 5.15pm to 6pm on Wednesday 21 October, 6.45am to 7.30am on Thursday 22 October, 9.35am to 10.20am on Friday 23 October, 7.10am to 8.10am on Saturday 24 October, 8.55am to 9.40am on Sunday 25 October, 5.50am to 6.35am on Monday 26 October, 6.45am to 7.30am on Tuesday 27 October, 5.50am to 6.35am on Wednesday 28 October. This includes anyone who attended a class that was scheduled to begin five minutes before or five minutes after one of the classes listed above
Flip Out Prestons Indoor Trampoline Park, Prestons: 11am to 1:50pm on Sunday 25 October
People in the Rouse Hill are advised to get tested, if they even have the mildest symptoms, after the state’s sewage surveillance program detected traces of the virus in the area
NSW Health is assessing potential exposure to Covid-19 of people who attended several other venues. Anyone who attended the following venues is considered casual contacts and should immediately isolate and get tested if they develop the slightest symptoms of Covid-19, and remain in isolation until they get a negative result.

Ali Baba Charcoal Chicken, Auburn: 4pm to 5pm on Sunday 18 October and 1pm to 1:20pm on Monday 26 October
Westfield Bondi Junction, Bondi Junction: 1:30pm to 4:30pm on Saturday 24 October
Carnes Hill Marketplace, Carnes Hill: 3:30pm to 4:30pm on Tuesday 27 October
Watsup Brothers kebab shop, Condell Park: 5:30pm to 6pm on Saturday 24 October
Spendless Shoes, Westfield Liverpool: 4pm to 4:20pm on Wednesday 28 October
Westfield Liverpool: 11.30am-2pm and 4pm-4.40pm on Wednesday 28 October
If you live in or have visited these local government areas in the past two weeks, get tested if you have any Covid-19 symptoms, even if mild, and self-isolate until you get your test result.

Camden LGA
Lakemba (suburb)
Liverpool LGA
West Hoxton
Hoxton Park
Middleton Grange
Horningsea Park
Carnes Hill
Edmondson Park
Denham Court
Prestons
Busby
Miller
Moss Vale (suburb)
Passengers on the following public transport services are considered casual contacts and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop. After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative test result is received:

Fairfield Train Station to Central Train Station, Tuesday, 27 October, 11.38am – 12.40pm
Central Train Station to Fairfield Train Station, Tuesday, 27 October, 2.33pm – 3.23pm

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https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/nsw-covid-hotspots-list-of-sydney-and-regional-case-locations/ar-BB1aYcQF?ocid=msedgdhp

The sewerage pumping stations serve over 30,000 people living in several suburbs including Rouse Hill, North Kellyville, Box Hill, the Ponds, Kellyville Ridge, Parklea, Quakers Hill and Acacia Gardens.

"NSW Health is concerned there could be other active cases in the local community in people who have not been tested and who might incorrectly assume their symptoms might be a cold," NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said.

Today's cases come as Victoria records no new cases or virus-related deaths for two weeks.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will today attend a National Cabinet meeting to discuss the reopening of state borders as the holiday season approaches.

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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced a major easing of Queensland's coronavirus restrictions from next week.

As of 4:00pm on November 17, gatherings will increase from 40 to 50 people in homes and public spaces across Queensland.

Up to 200 people will be allowed at funerals, with weddings and dancing at weddings also back on the cards from November 17.

Seated, ticketed venues such as theatres, live music, cinemas and indoor sports will be able to increase capacity from 50 per cent to 100 per cent as part of further easing of restrictions.

Entertainers will soon be allowed to perform within two metres of audience members, except for choirs which will maintain a separation of four metres.

Restrictions on indoor premises such as cafes, restaurants, places of worship and art galleries will lift from one person per four square metres, to one person per two square metres.

Open-air stadiums will also return to full capacity from Tuesday.

The move comes just in time for Wednesday's State of Origin decider to be played at Lang Park.

"The Cauldron can be filled to 100 per cent capacity," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"Let's fill that Cauldron, let's fill Suncorp and cheer our mighty Maroons on."

Late on Friday, Ms Palaszczuk also revealed 2,000 seats at the Origin decider would be handed out to nurses, police, doctors "and those who have kept us safe this year".

Ms Palaszczuk said the changes were in line with advice provided by Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and due to the "great work of Queenslanders".

Newly appointed Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the move would be significant for the economy, businesses and the tourism industry.

"This is going to be very big and support many jobs in Queensland ... because it will allow many venues to double in capacity," she said.

"In easing these restrictions, it does increase the risk — so we want all venues and businesses to make sure they are proactively engaging with patrons.

"The onus is on all of us."

Queensland recorded one new case of coronavirus overnight after a person tested positive while in hotel quarantine.

Eight active cases remain across the state.

National Cabinet pledges for borders to open by Christmas
Speaking after National Cabinet on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Australians will soon be able to travel freely between all states and territories except Western Australia by Christmas, under a new agreement struck between leaders.

Ms Palaszczuk said Dr Young would assess the decision later this month.

"There is a national aspiration, of course, to have the borders open before Christmas," she said.

"In relation to Victoria, we're very encouraged with what's happening down there.

"We will be looking very closely at the end of the month at Victoria, and also New South Wales.

"There may be some hotspots ... but we're very encouraged by what we're seeing at this stage."

Queensland opened its borders to regional New South Wales on November 3 but remains closed to Greater Sydney and all of Victoria.

Arts, hospitality sectors excited
Brisbane's Performing Arts Trust chief executive John Kotzas said the winding back of restrictions was "extremely exciting" and would boost confidence in the industry across Australia.

"When we closed… it was a real black day for us," he said.

"Now being able to open up to 100 per cent gives us our purpose back so it's extremely exciting.

"Everyone in the building wants to be drinking champagne at the moment, but there's still work to be done."

Plough Inn manager Richard Harrison described the news as "massive" and said it meant the South Bank pub could open up to more functions.

"We've noticed the last couple of times when they've eased restrictions that people just seem to start coming out of the wood work," he said.

"It's rewarding in a strange sort of way, getting back to this point.

"We've got 40-odd staff who've all had to get stood down … now we're hiring staff.

"It's great for us as well getting more people in the venue … seeing people laughing and drinking away their sorrows of what's been a pretty average year."

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The Northern Territory has recorded five new cases of COVID-19, all of which relate to repatriated Australians from India who landed in Darwin on Wednesday.

Since repatriation flights to the Northern Territory began on October 23, a total of 13 people have tested positive to coronavirus.

Last month it was announced that eight Commonwealth repatriation flights would transport Australians stuck in Europe, India and South Africa back to Darwin.

So far, five of those flights have arrived in the Top End — three from the United Kingdom and two from India.

In total, 829 international arrivals have touched down in the Northern Territory, all of whom have been sent straight into quarantine.

Six people on the first flight from India were found to have COVID-19 after being tested during their mandatory 14-day quarantine period at Howard Springs.

The other two confirmed cases were on the second flight from London.

All five of the cases confirmed today relate to people who were repatriated from India, on a flight which landed in Darwin on Wednesday.

The total number of cases diagnosed in the Northern Territory is 47, all of whom have been related to international or interstate travel, with no cases of community transmission.

Police issue quarantine fines
It comes as Northern Territory Police issue three men with infringement notices for breaching quarantine requirements in the domestic quarantine wing of the same Howard Springs facility.

Police say on November 11, they were provided with a photo posted to social media which showed two of the men pushing the third man, who was in a wheelie bin.

"At the time of the photo being taken, none of the men were wearing required face masks," police said in a statement.

People staying at the quarantine facility need to physically distance and wear a mask when they're not in their allocated room.

NT Police acting commander Shaun Gill said it was "disappointing that we have had to remind these men that we are still in a health emergency".

"Almost everyone in the centre is abiding by the rules, and we haven't had any new cases in the domestic quarantine area for several months, but the actions of a few inconsiderate people who think they are above the rules could ruin it for everyone," he said.

Currently, 763 people are in quarantine in the Northern Territory.

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South Australia will re-open its border with Victoria within weeks, removing all quarantine requirements for travellers from the eastern state.

It's the last Australian state for which SA is removing border restrictions, with quarantine and isolation requirements already removed for all other states.

"I am very pleased to announce that, as of December the first, we'll be lifting the border with Victoria," Premier Steven Marshall said.

"This will be a huge relief to people as we head into December."

He described the restrictions on the Victorian border as having been SA's "first line of defence".

"[But] we've always said that we don't want to keep the restrictions in place for one day longer than we need to."

Victoria today recorded its 14th-straight day of no new COVID-19 cases and no deaths.

"It's been fantastic how they have quickly got on top of that very significant epidemic, but it's also looking at the restrictions," SA Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said, describing the rationale for lifting the border.

"Victoria still has quite significant restrictions in place — it was only this week that people were able to travel between the metropolitan and the regional parts of Victoria."

Further easing of restrictions expected in SA
Mr Marshall also foreshadowed a further easing of restrictions within South Australia.

He said SA's COVID-19 Transition Committee will meet again next Tuesday to discuss relaxing capacity restrictions on venues and activities within the state.

Currently there are restrictions of up to 150 people at weddings and funerals in South Australia, and restrictions of up to 50 people in private homes.

Mr Marshall said people should be able to drink alcohol while standing up in bars and clubs from November 20, once digital check-in technology is operating.

Premier's Department to hold QR code data
SA COVID-19 State Coordinator and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said food and drink venues across the state would be required to download QR codes for patrons to scan when they enter.

He said the data from the scans, and also from ID card scanning technology, will be held in the Department for Premier and Cabinet.

"The data that is being collected by both of those pieces of technology is going to be held centrally in the Department for Premier and Cabinet, which means that SA Health will have 24/7 access to this data in the event that we do have an outbreak in South Australia," Mr Stevens said.

"This is absolutely critical — this is our ammunition to attack any sort of outbreak so we can start the contact tracing immediately."

He said the data collection would allow patrons to drink while standing up in hospitality venues.

Social media data compared to government data collection
Commissioner Stevens said he guaranteed that the data would not be used for any purpose other than for COVID-19 contact tracing.

He suggested people with privacy concerns should consider the amount of information they give to social media companies.

"I think anyone who has any concerns about their privacy should probably reflect on the level of access they provide private companies in the form of social media sites and other sites," he said.

"As well as [that] it's a discretion people can exercise to not go into venues with this particular technology available.

"We are interested in the wellbeing of the South Australian community — to ensure that, in this current COVID-19 environment, we need to … source that data to contact trace as soon as possible."

He added that the data would be dumped after 28 days.

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South Australia will enforce sweeping coronavirus restrictions from midnight tonight in a bid to control an outbreak that has grown to 18 cases.

Premier Steven Marshall announced a number of restrictions to be introduced today in a bid to further curb the spread of the virus, which has been described as a "second wave".

Residents who can work from home are being advised to do so while pubs, clubs and restaurants will be capped at 100 people per venue.

The four-square metre rule will apply.

Only 50 people will be allowed to attend funerals and churches will be restricted to 100 - both will need to observe the four-square metre rule.

Schools will remain open.

This comes as SA recorded 18 new cases of COVID-19, 13 of which are linked to the existing Parafield Gardens cluster.

The remaining five cases have been acquired overseas and are in hotel quarantine.

The Parafield Gardens cluster is believed to be all members of one "large" family.

Mr Marshall described the state's latest COVID-19 cluster as its "biggest test to date".

"We are facing a biggest test to date but we can and must rise to this new challenge. We have world leading health experts and systems that have helped keep South Australia safe and strong," Mr Marshall said.
"I want to assure all South Australians that we are working around the clock to stay ahead of this cluster.

"No effort will be spared to slow and stop the spread of the powerful cluster."

Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania have all closed their borders to South Australia.

South Australia's Chief Medical Officer Dr Nicola Spurrier has clarified that the state currently reports new cases for the previous 24 hours – meaning any cases found today (November 16) have not been announced.

Dr Spurrier said despite this, she was not currently aware of any new cases from today associated with the Parafield Gardens cluster despite extensive testing.

Dr Spurrier has said while South Australia is currently facing a second wave of the virus, the initial numbers of positive cases do not confirm it is currently in one.

"What we are facing is, indeed, a second wave but we haven't got the second wave yet," Dr Spurrier said.

"We are in very, very early days.

"So the first thing we need to do is, from my team's point of view, is the testing, contact tracing and getting people into quarantine very, very quickly."

South Australia's Chief Public Health Officer Professor Dr Nicola Spurrier today confirmed contact tracers believe the Parafield Gardens cluster came from a "medi-hotel", the term used by the state to describe secure hotel quarantine.

"From our initial review of this, it is clearly from a medi-hotel. What we're awaiting on is the results of our genomic testing," Dr Spurrier said.

"We have one person that's employed by the hotel and and then there are two security guards."

A new coronavirus outbreak in Adelaide is growing, after one woman contracted COVID-19 following treatment at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

SA Health is in the process of contacting everyone who attended the emergency department of the hospital between 5.30pm November 13 and 4am November 14, who may have been in close contact with a confirmed case.

More than 100 people are self-isolating in the state as contact tracers scramble to get on top of the growing cluster.

Mass testing queues have also formed at Parafield as dozens line up to get tested.

People queuing at the COVID-19 testing site at Parafield Airport ( in 38 to 42 degC heat ).

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9News.com.au logoSouth Australia imposes new restrictions as cluster grows

South Australia will enforce sweeping coronavirus restrictions from midnight tonight in a bid to control an outbreak that has grown to 18 cases.

Premier Steven Marshall announced a number of restrictions to be introduced today in a bid to further curb the spread of the virus, which has been described as a "second wave".

Residents who can work from home are being advised to do so while pubs, clubs and restaurants will be capped at 100 people per venue.

READ MORE: How South Australia cluster began

Steven Marshall et al. standing in front of a sign: South Australian Premier Steven Marshall. © Nine South Australian Premier Steven Marshall.
The four-square metre rule will apply.


Only 50 people will be allowed to attend funerals and churches will be restricted to 100 - both will need to observe the four-square metre rule.

Schools will remain open.

This comes as SA recorded 18 new cases of COVID-19, 13 of which are linked to the existing Parafield Gardens cluster.

The remaining five cases have been acquired overseas and are in hotel quarantine.

The Parafield Gardens cluster is believed to be all members of one "large" family.

Mr Marshall described the state's latest COVID-19 cluster as its "biggest test to date".

"We are facing a biggest test to date but we can and must rise to this new challenge. We have world leading health experts and systems that have helped keep South Australia safe and strong," Mr Marshall said.

READ MORE: PM touches down in Victoria to announce $800 million vaccine factory

https://twitter.com/bryceheaton9/status/1328076160828276736
"I want to assure all South Australians that we are working around the clock to stay ahead of this cluster.

"No effort will be spared to slow and stop the spread of the powerful cluster."

Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania have all closed their borders to South Australia.

South Australia's Chief Medical Officer Dr Nicola Spurrier has clarified that the state currently reports new cases for the previous 24 hours – meaning any cases found today (November 16) have not been announced.

Dr Spurrier said despite this, she was not currently aware of any new cases from today associated with the Parafield Gardens cluster despite extensive testing.

READ MORE: New South Wales will not close its border to South Australia

a car parked in front of a building: A woman became infected after being treated at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide's northern suburbs.© 9News A woman became infected after being treated at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
Dr Spurrier has said while South Australia is currently facing a second wave of the virus, the initial numbers of positive cases do not confirm it is currently in one.

"What we are facing is, indeed, a second wave but we haven't got the second wave yet," Dr Spurrier said.

"We are in very, very early days.

"So the first thing we need to do is, from my team's point of view, is the testing, contact tracing and getting people into quarantine very, very quickly."

South Australia's Chief Public Health Officer Professor Dr Nicola Spurrier today confirmed contact tracers believe the Parafield Gardens cluster came from a "medi-hotel", the term used by the state to describe secure hotel quarantine.

"From our initial review of this, it is clearly from a medi-hotel. What we're awaiting on is the results of our genomic testing," Dr Spurrier said.

"We have one person that's employed by the hotel and and then there are two security guards."

a sign on the side of the street: A new coronavirus outbreak in Adelaide is growing, after one woman contracted COVID-19 following treatment at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.© 9News A new coronavirus outbreak in Adelaide is growing, after one woman contracted COVID-19 following treatment at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.
SA Health is in the process of contacting everyone who attended the emergency department of the hospital between 5.30pm November 13 and 4am November 14, who may have been in close contact with a confirmed case.

More than 100 people are self-isolating in the state as contact tracers scramble to get on top of the growing cluster.

Mass testing queues have also formed at Parafield as dozens line up to get tested.

a group of people standing in the grass: People queuing at the COVID-19 testing site at Parafield Airport.© Getty People queuing at the COVID-19 testing site at Parafield Airport.
Spread to aged care
Two employees at AnglicareSA's Brompton aged care home have tested positive to COVID-19.

AnglicareSA CEO Peter Sanderman confirmed the two staff members were two female nurses - a mother and a daughter.

The pair are family members of the original case at the Peppers hotel where the outbreak began.

AnglicareSA in a statement said the employees have not attended the Brompton aged care home since Friday 13 November and have not worked at any other sites.

Both employees are quarantining in a medi-hotel.

The aged care facility has been deep cleaned and is closed to all visitors.

All staff and residents will undertake mandatory COVID-19 testing. All residents will be required to self-isolate. Staff are now wearing full PPE at the facility.

Access to all AnglicareSA facilities will also be limited for the next 48 hours as a precaution.

https://www.facebook.com/AnglicareSA/posts/3480444205406338
"AnglicareSA continues to work closely with SA Health and we are taking no chances in safeguarding the wellbeing of our residents and staff," the statement read.

Shutdowns
Mawson Lakes School and Preschool in the city's north has shut down for at least 24 hours, along with a Hungry Jack's at Port Adelaide amid fears of coronavirus.

The student at Mawson Lakes is a close contact of a positive case, with the school closing out of an "abundance of caution", according to the Department of Education.

Thomas More College in Salisbury Downs has also closed after a Year 8 student tested positive to COVID-19.

Deep cleaning is underway and the school will reopen when it is safe to do so.

https://twitter.com/9keziahsullivan/status/1328150943477579777
"We are working closely with SA Health. The safety of our students and staff is paramount and the school will be closed until we are sure that it is safe for students to return," Catholic Education SA Director Dr Neil McGoran said.

No other students have tested positive to COVID-19 at the school.

A growing list of concerning locations across the city's northern suburbs include the Lyell McEwin Hospital, Parafield Plaza, Hollywood Plaza, Enfield Plaza, Elizabeth Shopping Centre and the Yatala prison.

Speaking to Today, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government had offered Australian Defence Force support to help South Australia with its "excellent" contact tracing operation.

Click to expand...

Busy bus routes, a supermarket and several shopping centres have been identified as potential coronavirus hot spots as Adelaide's new cluster threatens to spread across the state.

South Australia Health has advised anyone who visited a host of new locations to immediately get tested if symptoms appear and confirmed the cluster had grown to 17 on Monday.

That includes anyone who visited Elizabeth Shopping Centre on November 8, Woolworths at Hollywood Plaza on November 13 and 14 or Parafield Plaza Supermarket on November 12.

The state had been free of locally-acquired coronavirus infections for nearly three months, with the virus understood to have slipped out of hotel quarantine.

Bus 500 from Salisbury Bus Interchange between November 9 and 13 and Bus 411 on November 9 were also listed as a potential source of infection.

Salisbury Bus station itself was listed on November 7 and 9.

Passengers on Bus 502 from Internode Adelaide bus stop on Grenfell Street were warned about journeys made on November 9, 12 and 13.

A warning was also issued for Bus GA1/GA2/GA3 on November 7 and 10.

Patrons were warned about The Aquadome swimming pool on November 14 and Hungry Jacks at Port Adelaide on November 13 and 14.

The Mantra on Frome hotel was identified as at risk on November 12 and 13 and Salisbury Fruit Barn on November 13.

LOCATIONS ON ALERT
Elizabeth Shopping Centre on November 8

Woolworths at Hollywood Plaza on November 13 and 14

Parafield Plaza Supermarket on November 12

Bus 500 from Salisbury Bus Interchange on November 9 to 13

Bus 411 on November 9

Salisbury Bus station on November 7 and 9

Bus 502 from Internode Adelaide bus stop on November 9, 12 and 13

A warning was also issued for Bus GA1/GA2/GA3 on November 7 and 10

The Aquadome swimming pool on November 14

Hungry Jacks at Port Adelaide on November 13 and 14

The Mantra on Frome hotel on November 12 and 13

Salisbury Fruit Barn on November 13

Ekam Indian Groceries in Enfield Plaza on November 13

Ekam Indian Groceries in Enfield Plaza was also identified on November 13.

Coronavirus cases have threatened to spiral out of control after the family cluster in Adelaide exploded into 17 cases.

SA Health authorities believe the outbreak started when a worker at Peppers Hotel quarantine in Adelaide's CBD brought the virus home to a large family.

The couple, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s, then gave it to an 80-year-old woman who was one of their mothers.

The elderly woman sought treatment at Lyell McEwin Hospital, in Adelaide's north, where she was diagnosed with coronavirus on Saturday.

About 90 people who were in the hospital's emergency department between 5:30pm on Friday and 4:00am on Saturday have been ordered into quarantine.

Of the 17 cases, 15 are directly related to the family cluster while the other two are linked infections.

Health officials are scrambling to trace contacts of the confirmed cases, which likely numbers in the hundreds, amid fears of a Melbourne-style lockdown.

SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said the cluster of cases in Parafield in Adelaide's north was growing at an alarming rate.

Hundreds of people were pictured lining up to get a coronavirus test at a pop-up clinic in the suburb on Monday morning.

One family member of the cluster worked at the Yatala Labour Prison - the city's biggest jail - in the northern suburbs and tested positive on Sunday.

Less than an hour after the prison case was announced, a primary school in Adelaide's north said it would have to close on Monday.

The Mawson Lakes Primary School and Preschool said it would shut for a deep clean after a student was found to be a 'close contact' of a confirmed case.

ADELAIDE'S COVID-19 OUTBREAK - WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
A worker at the Peppers Hotel in the Adelaide CBD is believed to have caught the virus from an international traveller and then infected her large family.

The couple - a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s then gave it to an 80-year-old woman, who is one of their mothers.

Elderly woman visited the Parafield Plaza Asian supermarket between 10:30am and 11:30am on Thursday without knowing she was infectious.

Growth in the Parafield outbreak led to the family cluster in South Australia rising to 17 cases on Monday.

Western Australia has since forced all arrivals from SA since Saturday to self-quarantine for 14 days.

South Australian travellers arriving in Tasmania and the Northern Territory will also be required to quarantine for 14 days, the two states announced later on Monday morning.

More than 90 people have already forced into quarantine as dozens of locations put on high alert:

Anyone who was in the emergency department at Lyell McEwin Hospital between 5pm Friday 13 November and 4am on Saturday 14 November told to self-isolate immediately.

Prisoners are being tested at Yatala Labour Prison after an employee who was a close contact of the family contact contracted COVID-19.

Anyone who visited Parafield Plaza Supermarket between 10.30am and 11.30am on Thursday November 12 told to watch for symptoms.

Mawson Lakes Primary School has been closed for 24 hours after a close contact of a student tested positive to the virus.

Thomas More College in north Adelaide has closed for at least 24 hours after a student at the school tested positive - and Hungry Jack's in Port Adelaide has also been closed for a deep clean.

On Monday SA Health released an extensive list of more locations potentially exposed to coronavirus. The locations included eleven buses and a Woolworths supermarket at Hollywood Plaza.

Click to expand...

A worker at one of the city's quarantine hotels caught the deadly virus from an international traveller and then infected her large family.

Of the 17 cases, 15 are directly related to the family cluster while the other two are linked infections.

Health officials are scrambling to trace contacts of the confirmed cases, which likely numbers in the hundreds, amid fears of a Melbourne-style lockdown.

SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said the cluster of cases in Parafield in Adelaide's north was growing at an alarming rate.

Hundreds of people were pictured lining up to get a coronavirus test at a pop-up clinic in the suburb on Monday morning.

The list of potentially infected places over the weekend now include a prison, a hospital, a primary school, and aged care facility and a shopping centre, with more than 90 people already forced into quarantine.

Thomas More College in northern Adelaide and Hungry Jack's in Port Adelaide - where one of the confirmed cases works - both announced they were temporarily shutting their doors on Monday morning to slow the spread of the virus.

The outbreak - involving the first community transmission in the state since April 15 -has prompted Western Australia to force all arrivals from SA since Saturday to self-quarantine for 14 days.

South Australian travellers arriving in Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Queensland will also be required to quarantine for 14 days, the two states announced later on Monday morning.

Victoria has also declared South Australia a coronavirus hotspot - but stopped short of making travellers self-isolate.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said arrivals from SA will still be interviewed at the airport and may have to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said though Australia's most populated state would be keeping its borders open to South Australia.

'You can't shut down border and disrupt lives every time there is an outbreak and disrupt businesses,' she said.

'We need to have confidence, not just in our own system, but the system in other states to be able to get on top of the virus.'

Health authorities said it's too early to tell if the crowds who went to the city's traditional Christmas Pageant at Adelaide Oval on Saturday have also been exposed.

Former WHO epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman said it appeared there had been a 'breakdown in systems' with the state's hotel quarantine program.

'Many hotels should've been secure. But my understanding is that people weren't tested on a regular basis,' Mr Esterman told the Today show.

'SA Health have now ordered that all people working at the hotels be tested weekly -I'm surprised this wasn't happening before now.'

He said South Australia risked a Victorian-style outbreak if infections weren't kept under control in the coming days.

ADELAIDE'S COVID-19 OUTBREAK - WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
A worker at the Peppers Hotel in the Adelaide CBD is believed to have caught the virus from an international traveller and then infected her large family.

The couple - a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s then gave it to an 80-year-old woman, who is one of their mothers.

Elderly woman visited the Parafield Plaza Asian supermarket between 10:30am and 11:30am on Thursday without knowing she was infectious.

Growth in the Parafield outbreak led to the family cluster in South Australia rising to 17 cases on Monday.

Western Australia has since forced all arrivals from SA since Saturday to self-quarantine for 14 days.

South Australian travellers arriving in Tasmania and the Northern Territory will also be required to quarantine for 14 days, the two states announced later on Monday morning.

An aged care centre is in lockdown after at least one worker tested positive.

Premier Steven Marshall has briefed Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the federal government has offered ADF support

More than 90 people have already forced into quarantine as dozens of locations put on high alert:

Anyone who was in the emergency department at Lyell McEwin Hospital between 5pm Friday 13 November and 4am on Saturday 14 November told to self-isolate immediately.

Prisoners are being tested at Yatala Labour Prison after an employee who was a close contact of the family contact contracted COVID-19.

Anyone who visited Parafield Plaza Supermarket between 10.30am and 11.30am on Thursday November 12 told to watch for symptoms.

Mawson Lakes Primary School has been closed for 24 hours after a close contact of a student tested positive to the virus.

Thomas More College in north Adelaide has closed for at least 24 hours after a student at the school tested positive - and Hungry Jack's in Port Adelaide has also been closed for a deep clean.

'Our hotels should be safe especially after the Victorian fiasco, where we saw the huge second wave occurring because of a breakdown in the systems in their quarantine hotels,' he said.

'One would've hoped all other states and territories would have much tighter security now.'

News of the cluster sparked an immediate reaction to control the outbreak, having learned from the wave of illness which swept through Melbourne in past months.

A planeload of passengers from Adelaide who landed at Perth airport just one day after border rules were relaxed were told to quarantine for 14 days or go home.

People about to depart Adelaide for Perth on Sunday were told they too would be required to quarantine for two weeks if they went ahead with their trips.

SA Health authorities believe the outbreak started when a worker at Peppers Hotel quarantine in Adelaide's CBD brought the virus home.

The facility is a medi-hotel - which refers to a hotel where travellers can isolate themselves if they cannot do so in their own home.

The couple, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s, then gave it to an 80-year-old woman who was one of their mothers.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LOCATIONS ON HIGH ALERT
If you have visited any of the below locations watch for symptoms and get tested immediately if they appear:

Bus 500 from Salisbury Bus Interchange

Friday 13 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Thursday 12 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Wednesday 11 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Tuesday 10 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Monday 9 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Bus 502 from Internode Adelaide bus stop on Grenfell Street

Friday 13 November 4.15pm – 5.30pm

Thursday 12 November 4.30pm – 5.30pm

Monday 9 November 10.30am – 11.30am

Woolworths, Hollywood Plaza

Saturday 14 November 10.00am – 11.00am

Friday 13 November 10.00am – 12.00pm

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

Tuesday 10 November 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Saturday 7 November 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Bus 411 from Salisbury Bus Interchange

Monday 9 November 11.30am – 11.45am

Salisbury Bus Interchange

Monday 9 November 11.30am – 12.00pm

Saturday 7 November 6.30pm

Elizabeth Shopping Centre

Sunday 8 November 11.00am – 12.30pm

Harris Scarf, Elizabeth Shopping Centre

Sunday 8 November 11.00am – 12.30pm

The elderly woman visited the Parafield Plaza Asian supermarket between 10.30am and 11.30am on Thursday without knowing she was infectious, potentially spreading the virus.

On Friday night she sought treatment at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide's north where she was diagnosed with coronavirus on Saturday.

About 90 people who were in the hospital's emergency department between 5:30pm on Friday and 4:00am on Saturday have been ordered into quarantine.

South Australia's chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier told reporters on Sunday the infected trio have a 'very large family'.

Four close contacts have since showed symptoms and are awaiting coronavirus test results.

One of the family members worked at the Yatala Labour Prison - the city's biggest jail - in the northern suburbs and tested positive on Sunday.

A rapid-response team is helping contact tracers track the prison exposure, but it is not yet known when the employee was last at the prison or whether they had contact with the prisoners.

SA Correctional Services chief executive David Brown confirmed the case and said a female prisoner from a different jail had also been affected as she had been at the Lyell McEwin Hospital emergency department during the high-risk hours, ABC News reported.

Less than an hour after the prison case was announced, a primary school in Adelaide's north said it would have to close on Monday.

The Mawson Lakes Primary School and Preschool said it would shut for a deep clean after a student was found to be a 'close contact' of a confirmed case.

Professor Spurrier said it was too early to say whether ­people at the Adelaide Oval Christmas Pageant on Saturday had also been exposed.

She warned more people were likely to be infected.

'I am absolutely warning South Australians: This is a wake-up call — if you have respiratory symptoms, you've got to get tested,' she said on Sunday.

The spiralling cluster is the first community transmission South Australia has seen in seven months - since April 15.

The emergency comes one day after Western Australia opened its borders to no-quarantine arrivals from South Australia.

It prompted West Australian authorities to snap their border rules back up for South Australian travellers after an emergency meeting on Sunday.

The tough restrictions had only been eased for one day, and the change caused havoc for hundreds of South Australians who crossed the border on Saturday and Sunday.

SOUTH AUSTRALIANS LOCKED OUT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, NORTHERN TERRITORY AND TASMANIA
The Northern Territory has declared South Australia a coronavirus hotspot after a cluster of COVID-19 cases in Adelaide grew quickly to 17.

South Australian travellers who arrived in Tasmania since last Monday will also have to go into isolation at home or in hotel accommodation.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the state's government may raise South Australia coronavirus threat designation to 'medium' - the same level as Victoria.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said anyone travelling to the territory from SA will now be forced into supervised quarantine for 14 days.

He said anyone arriving on Monday would be given the option to return to South Australia.

'The security and committee has just met to review the alarming developments in South Australia overnight,' he said.

'All of the information that we are getting right now concerns us and there is still so much we don't know about this outbreak.

'That is the critical point here. It is what we don't know that worries us the most.'

The SA cluster was sparked by a worker at a quarantine hotel becoming infected and spreading it to other family members.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also declared South Australia to be a hotspot and will require a 14-day quarantine period for SA arrivals from midnight on Tuesday morning.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said though Australia's most populated state would be keeping its borders open to South Australia.

'You can't shut down border and disrupt lives every time there is an outbreak and disrupt businesses,' she said.

A plane load of passengers from Adelaide who landed at 3.22pm at Perth Airport on Sunday were told they have to quarantine for two weeks or return on a flight home to Adelaide on Monday.

The news of the coronavirus outbreak had broken while they were still in mid-air.

The 151 Qantas passengers had been expecting to land without restriction as Western Australian eased its rules at 12.01am on Saturday so that residents from all states and territories except NSW and Victoria could enter without quarantining for two weeks.

Instead, they were met at the airport by nurses, health officials, Australian Defence Force personnel and police carrying personnel protective equipment.

Covid-19 contracts smell of cronyism – so I'm taking the government to court
A gas-led recovery won’t create jobs, so who benefits?
Daily Mail logoFears of Adelaide quarantine disaster as 'hundreds exposed' to covid

Adelaide's COVID-19 family cluster has exploded to 17 cases as a hotel quarantine outbreak in South Australia threatens to explode out of control.


Of the 17 cases, 15 are directly related to the family cluster while the other two are linked infections.

Health officials are scrambling to trace contacts of the confirmed cases, which likely numbers in the hundreds, amid fears of a Melbourne-style lockdown.

SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said the cluster of cases in Parafield in Adelaide's north was growing at an alarming rate.

Hundreds of people were pictured lining up to get a coronavirus test at a pop-up clinic in the suburb on Monday morning.

The list of potentially infected places over the weekend now include a prison, a hospital, a primary school, and aged care facility and a shopping centre, with more than 90 people already forced into quarantine.

Thomas More College in northern Adelaide and Hungry Jack's in Port Adelaide - where one of the confirmed cases works - both announced they were temporarily shutting their doors on Monday morning to slow the spread of the virus.

The outbreak - involving the first community transmission in the state since April 15 -has prompted Western Australia to force all arrivals from SA since Saturday to self-quarantine for 14 days.

South Australian travellers arriving in Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Queensland will also be required to quarantine for 14 days, the two states announced later on Monday morning.

Victoria has also declared South Australia a coronavirus hotspot - but stopped short of making travellers self-isolate.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said arrivals from SA will still be interviewed at the airport and may have to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test.



New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said though Australia's most populated state would be keeping its borders open to South Australia.

'You can't shut down border and disrupt lives every time there is an outbreak and disrupt businesses,' she said.

'We need to have confidence, not just in our own system, but the system in other states to be able to get on top of the virus.'

Health authorities said it's too early to tell if the crowds who went to the city's traditional Christmas Pageant at Adelaide Oval on Saturday have also been exposed.

Former WHO epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman said it appeared there had been a 'breakdown in systems' with the state's hotel quarantine program.

'Many hotels should've been secure. But my understanding is that people weren't tested on a regular basis,' Mr Esterman told the Today show.

'SA Health have now ordered that all people working at the hotels be tested weekly -I'm surprised this wasn't happening before now.'

He said South Australia risked a Victorian-style outbreak if infections weren't kept under control in the coming days.

ADELAIDE'S COVID-19 OUTBREAK - WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
A worker at the Peppers Hotel in the Adelaide CBD is believed to have caught the virus from an international traveller and then infected her large family.

The couple - a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s then gave it to an 80-year-old woman, who is one of their mothers.

Elderly woman visited the Parafield Plaza Asian supermarket between 10:30am and 11:30am on Thursday without knowing she was infectious.

Growth in the Parafield outbreak led to the family cluster in South Australia rising to 17 cases on Monday.

Western Australia has since forced all arrivals from SA since Saturday to self-quarantine for 14 days.

South Australian travellers arriving in Tasmania and the Northern Territory will also be required to quarantine for 14 days, the two states announced later on Monday morning.

a group of people walking down a street next to tall buildings© Provided by Daily Mail
An aged care centre is in lockdown after at least one worker tested positive.

Premier Steven Marshall has briefed Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the federal government has offered ADF support

More than 90 people have already forced into quarantine as dozens of locations put on high alert:

Anyone who was in the emergency department at Lyell McEwin Hospital between 5pm Friday 13 November and 4am on Saturday 14 November told to self-isolate immediately.

Prisoners are being tested at Yatala Labour Prison after an employee who was a close contact of the family contact contracted COVID-19.

Anyone who visited Parafield Plaza Supermarket between 10.30am and 11.30am on Thursday November 12 told to watch for symptoms.

Mawson Lakes Primary School has been closed for 24 hours after a close contact of a student tested positive to the virus.

Thomas More College in north Adelaide has closed for at least 24 hours after a student at the school tested positive - and Hungry Jack's in Port Adelaide has also been closed for a deep clean.

'Our hotels should be safe especially after the Victorian fiasco, where we saw the huge second wave occurring because of a breakdown in the systems in their quarantine hotels,' he said.

'One would've hoped all other states and territories would have much tighter security now.'



News of the cluster sparked an immediate reaction to control the outbreak, having learned from the wave of illness which swept through Melbourne in past months.

A planeload of passengers from Adelaide who landed at Perth airport just one day after border rules were relaxed were told to quarantine for 14 days or go home.

People about to depart Adelaide for Perth on Sunday were told they too would be required to quarantine for two weeks if they went ahead with their trips.

SA Health authorities believe the outbreak started when a worker at Peppers Hotel quarantine in Adelaide's CBD brought the virus home.

The facility is a medi-hotel - which refers to a hotel where travellers can isolate themselves if they cannot do so in their own home.

The couple, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s, then gave it to an 80-year-old woman who was one of their mothers.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LOCATIONS ON HIGH ALERT
If you have visited any of the below locations watch for symptoms and get tested immediately if they appear:

Bus 500 from Salisbury Bus Interchange

Friday 13 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Thursday 12 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Wednesday 11 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Tuesday 10 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Monday 9 November 6.30am – 7.40am

Bus 502 from Internode Adelaide bus stop on Grenfell Street

Friday 13 November 4.15pm – 5.30pm

Thursday 12 November 4.30pm – 5.30pm

Monday 9 November 10.30am – 11.30am

Woolworths, Hollywood Plaza

Saturday 14 November 10.00am – 11.00am

Friday 13 November 10.00am – 12.00pm

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

Tuesday 10 November 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Saturday 7 November 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Bus 411 from Salisbury Bus Interchange

Monday 9 November 11.30am – 11.45am

Salisbury Bus Interchange

Monday 9 November 11.30am – 12.00pm

Saturday 7 November 6.30pm

Elizabeth Shopping Centre

Sunday 8 November 11.00am – 12.30pm

Harris Scarf, Elizabeth Shopping Centre

Sunday 8 November 11.00am – 12.30pm

The elderly woman visited the Parafield Plaza Asian supermarket between 10.30am and 11.30am on Thursday without knowing she was infectious, potentially spreading the virus.

On Friday night she sought treatment at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide's north where she was diagnosed with coronavirus on Saturday.

About 90 people who were in the hospital's emergency department between 5:30pm on Friday and 4:00am on Saturday have been ordered into quarantine.

South Australia's chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier told reporters on Sunday the infected trio have a 'very large family'.

Four close contacts have since showed symptoms and are awaiting coronavirus test results.

One of the family members worked at the Yatala Labour Prison - the city's biggest jail - in the northern suburbs and tested positive on Sunday.

A rapid-response team is helping contact tracers track the prison exposure, but it is not yet known when the employee was last at the prison or whether they had contact with the prisoners.

SA Correctional Services chief executive David Brown confirmed the case and said a female prisoner from a different jail had also been affected as she had been at the Lyell McEwin Hospital emergency department during the high-risk hours, ABC News reported.

Less than an hour after the prison case was announced, a primary school in Adelaide's north said it would have to close on Monday.

The Mawson Lakes Primary School and Preschool said it would shut for a deep clean after a student was found to be a 'close contact' of a confirmed case.

Professor Spurrier said it was too early to say whether ­people at the Adelaide Oval Christmas Pageant on Saturday had also been exposed.

She warned more people were likely to be infected.

'I am absolutely warning South Australians: This is a wake-up call — if you have respiratory symptoms, you've got to get tested,' she said on Sunday.

The spiralling cluster is the first community transmission South Australia has seen in seven months - since April 15.

The emergency comes one day after Western Australia opened its borders to no-quarantine arrivals from South Australia.

It prompted West Australian authorities to snap their border rules back up for South Australian travellers after an emergency meeting on Sunday.

The tough restrictions had only been eased for one day, and the change caused havoc for hundreds of South Australians who crossed the border on Saturday and Sunday.

SOUTH AUSTRALIANS LOCKED OUT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, NORTHERN TERRITORY AND TASMANIA
The Northern Territory has declared South Australia a coronavirus hotspot after a cluster of COVID-19 cases in Adelaide grew quickly to 17.

South Australian travellers who arrived in Tasmania since last Monday will also have to go into isolation at home or in hotel accommodation.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the state's government may raise South Australia coronavirus threat designation to 'medium' - the same level as Victoria.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said anyone travelling to the territory from SA will now be forced into supervised quarantine for 14 days.

He said anyone arriving on Monday would be given the option to return to South Australia.

'The security and committee has just met to review the alarming developments in South Australia overnight,' he said.

'All of the information that we are getting right now concerns us and there is still so much we don't know about this outbreak.

'That is the critical point here. It is what we don't know that worries us the most.'

The SA cluster was sparked by a worker at a quarantine hotel becoming infected and spreading it to other family members.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also declared South Australia to be a hotspot and will require a 14-day quarantine period for SA arrivals from midnight on Tuesday morning.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said though Australia's most populated state would be keeping its borders open to South Australia.

'You can't shut down border and disrupt lives every time there is an outbreak and disrupt businesses,' she said.

A plane load of passengers from Adelaide who landed at 3.22pm at Perth Airport on Sunday were told they have to quarantine for two weeks or return on a flight home to Adelaide on Monday.

The news of the coronavirus outbreak had broken while they were still in mid-air.

The 151 Qantas passengers had been expecting to land without restriction as Western Australian eased its rules at 12.01am on Saturday so that residents from all states and territories except NSW and Victoria could enter without quarantining for two weeks.

Instead, they were met at the airport by nurses, health officials, Australian Defence Force personnel and police carrying personnel protective equipment.

More than 500 passengers from Adelaide flights are expected to land at Perth Airport this weekend, with 289 already arriving on Saturday and a further 266 people on two more Qantas flights on Sunday night.

Those who arrived on Saturday by either air or road before the new emergency restrictions came into force will be contacted and asked to self-isolate for 14 days and take a coronavirus test on day 11.

South Australian travellers are now subjected to the same quarantine and testing requirements as those from NSW and Victoria.

Click to expand...

Key points:
Medical chief issues a plea for regional residents to be tested if sick
Regional tourism operators on a knife-edge as concerns grow over SA COVID-19 cluster
Limestone Coast MP is confident in state's tracing and testing system

A leading medical officer in regional South Australia has urged people feeling unwell to be tested, following a "huge drop-off" in COVID-19 testing in the Limestone Coast.
The South East is now on high alert as Adelaide's northern suburbs cluster climbs from four to 17.

Limestone Coast Health Network director Elaine Pretorius said the region needed to be ready to "clamp down" as soon as possible.

"My main message today is if you're feeling unwell, get the test done," Dr Pretorius said.

"Testing and isolating is what works in the second phase of trying to eliminate the COVID completely."

Dr Pretorius said testing numbers had decreased significantly since the requirement for cross-border community residents to be tested every seven days was removed.

"I think what we'll be doing is keeping an eye on our testing rates and if it drops more, we would be concerned," she said.

"We will be changing our screening questions … we will be asking people whether they've been to Adelaide, whether they've been to the northern suburbs."

Doubt has been cast over the scheduled re-opening of the Victorian border on December 1 with fears South Australia may be shut-out from Victoria.

It follows a decision by Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania to close their borders following the northern suburbs cluster.

Border re-opening under cloud
Member for Mackillop Nick McBride said he was hopeful other states would have confidence in the state's traceability and testing capabilities.

"This is I think, a very, very sad case for South Australia because we've done such an excellent job keeping this disease under control and we don't know where we are going to end up in the next couple of weeks," Mr McBride said.

"At this stage I have every confidence on two facts — one is that the testing has been of the highest level from very, very early in the process and also that our traceability has been of a high standard, like New South Wales, and I'm hoping that we will control it like they have."

Mr McBride believed a "ring of steel" around Adelaide was not something the government would consider in the immediate future.

"To talk about Adelaide as requiring a ring of steel, I think that's a step way out in the future if it was to turn bad and ugly," he said.

While the strategy appeared to work for Victoria, Mr McBride believed the state was better positioned with contact tracing.

"The ring of steel was something that has obviously worked and did a magic job trying to control where they ended up," he said.

"But on the other side, I think South Australia is in a lot better position like New South Wales … our traceability and our testing has been of the highest standard not only in Australia, but the world."

Holiday park fears the worst
Kalganyi Holiday Park owner Gavin Fraser is one of the many accommodation operators in the South East that has suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said further restrictions on travel would be a devastating blow to his business.

"At this time of the year, it is generally our peak season from here until April and most of my bookings are from Adelaide so if they get locked down, we are in real strife," he said.

"We need people to be able to move around and have events happening again, but whether that happens or not now, remains to be seen."

With the border set to re-open to Victoria he said they were excited to have the park full for the Christmas and New Year period.

"It would be shocking if that doesn't happen now," he said.

"It was great the last long weekend, we were fairly full and it was great to welcome people back into the park."

Aged care facility monitoring outbreak
Limestone Coast aged care providers are also closely watching the developing COVID crisis in Adelaide.

Boandik chief executive officer Gillian McGinty said the organisation would consider changes to protect residents if the outbreak worsens.

"We are always worried about any community transmission of the virus as it is so virulent, and our residents and clients are vulnerable to any infection," she said.

"As there are no restrictions on visiting and everyone is mobile around the state we need to be always assessing the risk."

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The Queensland government will make all visitors Adelaide undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine after a coronavirus outbreak in the city.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young will place restrictions on arrivals from Adelaide from 11.59pm on Monday after labelling the South Australian capital as a virus hotspot.

"This cluster outbreak is of concern, it's not like the cost of outbreaks we've had in Queensland, but we do really hope that Adelaide does get on top of that very, very quickly," she told reporters on Monday.

Dr Young urged anyone who had arrived in Queensland from Adelaide since last Monday to immediately self-isolate.

"Now this is important while we work out what this means, it's a very rapid increase in cases from four to 17 (cases)," she said.

The Adelaide cluster, linked to a worker at a quarantine hotel, has now spread to 17 people in the city.

The worker became infected and spread the virus to other family members.

Of the cases detected so far, 15 are thought to involve members of the one extended family.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said while it was impossible to completely eliminate COVID-19 with people returning to Australia from overseas, the goal was to contain the virus in hotel quarantine.

"From the detail I have available at the moment, it does appear that these cases have come out of hotel quarantine and that's that's very concerning - that's where the Victorian outbreak started," he told reporters.

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Victoria will join other states in declaring South Australia a hot spot but will not move to close the border, Premier Daniel Andrews says.

Victoria continued its run of no new coronavirus cases or deaths, recording double zeros for the 17th day in a row.

In South Australia, a cluster quadrupled overnight to 17 people, after the state recorded its first locally-acquired case in almost three months on Sunday

There are still three active cases in Victoria and there were 6695 tests processed in the past day.

Other states have indicated they will declare South Australia a hot spot and Premier Daniel Andrews said: "We will do the same".

He said people travelling by plane from South Australia into Melbourne would need to be questioned by health officials upon arrival.

"Rapid testing may be a feature of that," he said. "We don't want to take any chances at all."

It is not yet clear what measures will be in place for people entering Victoria by road.

Mr Andrews said he had little appetite for closing the border to South Australia. "I'm looking to get these borders open," he said.

Mr Andrews said he had confidence that South Australian Premier Stephen Marshall would be able to manage the outbreak.

South Australian Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier confirmed on Monday morning that the number of cases linked to the cluster had risen from four.

The cluster began when a woman in her 80s tested positive for the virus on Saturday.

Two family members were also part of the initial cluster, including a man in his 60s who works in hotel quarantine for returning travellers. SA Health believes that is the source of the outbreak.

On Sunday afternoon passengers landing in Perth from Adelaide were forced into quarantine after Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan reinstated restrictions on South Australia.

Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, who helmed a recent report into Australia's contact tracing systems, said he was confident South Australia would to stay on top of its new cluster.

"I think this [outbreak] should be seen as an aberration, but aberrations are inevitable," he told the ABC on Monday.

"That's why you need a second line of defence which is really fast testing, contact tracing and outbreak management and South Australia's well prepared for this, they've done desktop simulations in the last few months, but this is a real world test for them."

South Australia is adopting the "third ring" strategy of isolating cases, close contacts and contacts of close contacts that has been used to tame recent outbreaks in Victoria recently, Dr Finkel said.

Cricket Australia is monitoring outbreak but says there is no reason to think next month's Test series opener against India is in doubt.

Adelaide is due to host the blockbuster first Test against India, from December 17.

Victoria's 17th day in a row of no new cases or deaths related to COVID-19 comes the same day as a Victorian Upper House committee inquiry into the state's contact tracing begins.

Appearing at the inquiry today are Australian Medical Association Victorian President Julian Rait, Deakin University Chair of Epidemiology Catherine Bennett, Information Commissioner Sven Bluemmel and privacy and data collection deputy commissioner Rachel Dixon.

Victoria's contact tracing system came under fire during and after the state's second wave, particularly from the federal government.

Over the course of the pandemic, the state moved away from its centralised contact tracing system to establish suburban and regional hubs, replacing its pen-and-paper systems with computers and contacting close contacts of confirmed coronavirus cases within 36 hours of initial testing.

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Flights from New Zealand return to Melbourne today as Victoria records its 17th consecutive day of zero new coronavirus cases and deaths.

The state joins an existing travel bubble NZ already has with other states put in place by the federal government last month.

The new arrivals from across the ditch will not be required to quarantine and will be allowed to travel freely across the country, adhering to each state's COVID-19 rules.

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9News.com.au logoNZ flights land in Melbourne as Victoria joins travel bubble

Flights from New Zealand return to Melbourne today as Victoria records its 17th consecutive day of zero new coronavirus cases and deaths.

The state joins an existing travel bubble NZ already has with other states put in place by the federal government last month.

The new arrivals from across the ditch will not be required to quarantine and will be allowed to travel freely across the country, adhering to each state's COVID-19 rules.

LIVE BLOG: NT declares SA a COVID-19 hotspot, opens border to Victorians by end of month

a airplane that is parked on the side of a road: Melbourne airport has not been its usual hub of activity in 2020 but today receives flights from New Zealand.© Nine Melbourne airport has not been its usual hub of activity in 2020 but today receives flights from New Zealand.
Quarantine-free travel is still not permitted for Australians travelling from New Zealand.

The much welcome return to normal for Victoria comes as a coronavirus cluster in South Australia grows to 17 cases.

Premier Daniel Andrews said South Australia would now be declared a hotspot, joining the Northern Territory and Tasmanian governments in the declaration.

New South Wales will keep its borders open to SA.

Mr Andrews stopped short of imposing a border closure or compulsory quarantine.

He said anyone flying into Victoria from SA would face questioning about their symptoms and movements, and flagged rapid testing was a possibility.

https://twitter.com/andrew_lund/status/1328138137038508032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"I know that the Northern Territory and Tasmania have declared SA as a hot spot – we will do the same," he said."It will be a case-by-case process," he said.

"When a person arrives at the airport there will be a sit down with them. Rapid testing may be a feature of that."

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New South Wales has recorded no community transmission of coronavirus for the ninth consecutive day.

There were two cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

"Though there have been no new locally acquired cases in NSW in recent days, now is not the time to drop our guard," NSW Health said in a statement.

"Everyone needs to continue to be alert to the ongoing risk of transmission of COVID-19, to keep practising physical distancing and good hand hygiene, and most importantly to get tested and isolate if they feel unwell."
Despite concerns about a growing cluster in South Australia, NSW Premier Berejiklian said the state remains open.

"We need to learn to live with COVID," Ms Berejiklian said.

The chief medical officers from all states will meet today, the premier added.

"At the end of the day we need to live with the pandemic, have confidence in our system and open up," she said.

One more case has been added to the state's total number but it was an old infection.

The person from western Sydney, who is linked to an earlier case, was tested for COVID-19 on October 23, but returned a negative result.

However, subsequent serological testing found this person previously had COVID-19, most likely earlier in October.

Investigations to date have not identified any further transmission from this case.

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NSW's unemployment rate is expected to hit its highest level in 23 years by Christmas and will not return to levels seen before the coronavirus crisis until mid-2024.

Forecasts from NSW Treasury, to be detailed in the state budget on Tuesday, predict unemployment will peak at 7.5 per cent in the next two months, up from 7.2 per cent in September.

It will take until June 2024 to drop to 5.25 per cent.

The last time unemployment in NSW was 7.2 per cent was August 1998, and the last time it was above 7.5 was in October 1997, when the economy was still recovering from recession.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said his fourth budget would focus on creating jobs through tax cuts, stimulus and a boost to the state's $100 billion infrastructure pipeline.

Among the measures to be announced on Tuesday is an increase to the payroll tax threshold from $1 million to $1.2 million, delivering a tax cut for thousands of businesses.

But the budget will also deliver a deficit in the tens of billions of dollars and record levels of borrowing on the back of super-low interest rates.

NSW's overall revenue will be down $25 billion over five years.

Mr Perrottet said NSW needed to invest "as much as possible" to drive down unemployment.

"The extra stimulus and investment we will make will help drive down the unemployment rate and I have always said success will look like how many people are in work at the end of this pandemic," Mr Perrottet told the Herald.

The NSW unemployment rate, seasonably adjusted, in January this year was 4.5 per cent, and 4 per cent in January 2019.

By September this year, it had climbed to above 7 per cent and 312,000 people in NSW were out of work.

The forecasts show NSW Treasury expects the state to make a slow but steady recovery rather than a V-shape rebound that many had been hoping would eventuate.

Treasury anticipates that as many as 270,000 people will be back in work by 2024.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the government was determined to help as many people return to the workforce as possible.

"While we all wait for the COVID-19 vaccine to arrive, the NSW government is determined to treat the economic symptoms of the pandemic by saving and creating as many jobs as possible," Ms Berejiklian said.

"Our targeted stimulus measures are aimed at returning the economy to a positive footing after the challenges of COVID-19."

Mr Perrottet said the state's strong budget position had allowed NSW to "weather the most severe economic storm in a generation".

"New initiatives such as our $250 million program which will help create or support up to 25,000 jobs to encourage business to relocate to NSW, and an additional $300 million injected into the Regional Growth Fund last week, are key steps to drive the state's economy back into high gear," Mr Perrottet said.

The government will also redirect coal mining royalties into its sovereign wealth fund to be used to offset the anticipated high levels of debt and the Coalition's asset recycling program will continue with a scoping study into the sale of the tax revenue from NSW Lotteries.

The government has also released a planning package for the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, which it says will see as many as 200,000 jobs created over coming decades.

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emperatures have reached 40C in western Sydney and continue to climb in other parts of NSW as a north-westerly wind brings hot air gusts from inland.

Penrith is sweltering as the hottest in the city's west, while along the coast temperatures will hit their highest later today.

"Sydney CBD and across eastern Sydney are expecting a top of 36C… expecting that warmer temperature to really peak around 5pm," Agata Imielska, NSW and ACT Hazard Preparedness and Response Manager for the Bureau of Meteorology, said.

Parramatta Riv today

Large parts of Australia can expect extreme heat with winds blowing warm air from the centre of the country. Dustdown were a feature in many inland areas today , along with heatwave conditions and violent storms ( including some tornadoes ).

"But western Sydney will be warm throughout the day, expecting high 30s and low 40s."

In the state's north it will also be a hot day, with Tamworth looking to hit a top of 38C.

In other parts of NSW, the mercury will reach 34C on the Central Coast, 35C in Newcastle while Wollongong can expect a top of 30C.

https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1328054642266177536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Rural Fire Service has issued alerts for greater Sydney, the Illawarra, the Shoalhaven, the Northern Slopes, the north west, the North Coast and the far South Coast.

A WeatherZone spokesman told 9News the hot conditions are caused by north-westerly winds bringing hot air from inland Australia.

The mercury is forecast to dip later today, with a 20 per cent chance of storms by the afternoon.

By tomorrow the maximum temperature in Sydney is a forecast 22C.

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Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner has announced the residents from greater Melbourne will be able to enter the territory without needing to quarantine from November 30.
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Sky News Australia logoNT to reopen to Melbourne from November 30 as SA declared hotspot

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner has announced the residents from greater Melbourne will be able to enter the territory without needing to quarantine from November 30.

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NT to reopen to Melbourne from November 30 as SA declared hotspot
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“If you are as safe as we are then you will be welcome here,” he said.

“So we can get on the beers again with our Melbourne mates.”

Mr Gunner warned, however, if coronavirus cases were to rise again to an “unacceptable level” the territory would very readily reimpose the hotspot status.

Victoria today marked its 17th consecutive day of zero new cases or deaths.

Mr Gunner also declared South Australia a coronavirus hotspot - after the state reported 17 cases were linked to a new cluster – requiring everyone arriving from SA to undergo quarantine.

He said people arriving in the Northern Territory this morning would be given a choice to enter supervised quarantine for 14 days or return home.

For those choosing to quarantine, Mr Gunner said the $2500 accommodation cost would be waived due to the late notice.

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The Northern Territory Chief Minister has announced all arrivals from South Australia will have to undergo mandatory supervised quarantine in response to the growing coronavirus cluster in Adelaide.

The declaration of South Australia as a hotspot will take effect immediately.

People who arrive in the NT will have the choice to return to South Australia immediately instead of undergoing quarantine.

Anyone who arrives in the Northern Territory from South Australia on Monday or Tuesday will not have to pay the $2,500 fee to undertake supervised quarantine, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.

Two planes arrived in Darwin from Adelaide on Monday morning.

"People who intend to travel here later today from South Australia will need to make a decision now to stay there, or if they do come here to enter supervise quarantine," Mr Gunner said.

Mr Gunner said the NT's Security and Emergency Management Committee met on Monday morning to review "alarming developments in South Australia overnight" before making the hotspot declaration.

"All the information we are getting right now concerns us and there is still so much we don't know about this outbreak," Mr Gunner said.

"The critical point here is [it is] what we don't know that worries us the most.

Mr Gunner said people should be prepared for sudden hotspot declarations ahead of the Christmas holidays.

"It reaffirms that message if you leave the Northern Territory, plan to have a spare 14 days up your sleeve, plan to have $2,500 up your sleeve, or plan to be able to stay where you are for longer if you need to," he said.

"A hotspot could happen at any time, unfortunately."

Mr Gunner has also announced that from November 30, Greater Melbourne will no longer be considered a hotspot for travel to the Northern Territory.

"If you are as safe as we are, then you are welcome here. Melbourne is safe. So very soon Melbourne will be welcome here," Mr Gunner said.

"From Monday, November 30, in two weeks' time, Greater Melbourne will no longer be consider a hotspot for the purposes of travel to the Northern Territory — so we can get on the beers again with our Melbourne mates."

Regional Victorians have been allowed to arrive in the NT for the past fortnight.

'Confused about what happens next'
John Bonnin, whose son Tom was in Adelaide on a weekend trip away, was in contact with his son during his return flight to Darwin this morning.

Mr Bonnin said his son found out the NT Government had declared South Australia a hotspot on the flight via the pilot over the speakers.

"We're just a little confused about what happens next. We have had a good run and support the safety measure but it's hard when it hits you personally," Mr Bonnin said.

"I have already called Tom's boss to let him know about this and that he may not be in to work for a couple of weeks."

Upon arrival at Darwin Airport, Tom, 19, said he was in shock when he heard the pilot make the hotspot announcement on the flight.

"We had gone down for a holiday and brought our flight forward when we heard the news about the outbreak," he said.

"I'm devastated and a bit in shock about this. It's all come so fast."

His father spoke to him across the barrier at the airport.

"I just hope he is OK. We will see if we can send him some care packages in quarantine", John said.

Blake Gilmore was also waiting at Darwin Airport for his wife and daughter who were on board one of the two flights from Adelaide this morning.

"I'm heartbroken — I haven't seen them for a week," he said.

"All I want to do is wrap my arms around my daughter.

Mr Gilmore said his wife and daughter found out they would be going into supervised quarantine after their plane touched down in Darwin.

"I completely understand [the decision]," he said.

"It's for the best thing for the Territory and if a couple of people are separated from their family for two weeks, then it is what it is.

"It's better than people being separated from their families for the rest of their lives."

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Travellers who have come to Tasmania from South Australia in the past week have been asked to immediately self-isolate while public health authorities seek further information about an outbreak of COVID-19 in Adelaide.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the state had declared South Australia a medium-risk jurisdiction, and travellers who arrive from SA from tonight have to undergo mandatory two weeks of quarantine.

Travellers are expected to quarantine either at home or government accommodation.

"Due to the swift nature of the change here, we will cover the cost initially in terms of the hotel quarantine," Mr Gutwein said.

Anyone who has arrived from SA to Tasmania from November 7, is expected to self-isolate.

"We need to be nimble and we need to be decisive and that's exactly what we're going to do," Mr Gutwein said.

Seventeen coronavirus cases have now been linked to a cluster in Adelaide's northern suburbs.

A flight from Adelaide is scheduled to arrive at Hobart Airport at 6:50pm today — some of the arrivals are seasonal workers.

"Tonight, there'll be a scheduled cohort of seasonal workers due to arrive in Tasmania from the Adelaide area — they will [also] undergo mandatory hotel quarantine," he said.

Mr Gutwein said people who had been to South Australia recently should not visit aged care homes in Tasmania, and hospital visits needed to be pre-arranged.

Mr Gutwein said a further update would be provided tomorrow about whether the rules would be different for regional South Australian arrivals.

About 1,200 people have travelled from South Australia to Tasmania since November 7.

People travelling to Tasmania from interstate must register their details and Mr Gutwein said those who had spent time in South Australia in the past week were being contacted.

Public Health also said those who have recently been in South Australia should be alert for COVID-19 symptoms.

People with symptoms, including mild symptoms, should organise to be tested.

Long wait to see family
Tasmanian resident Antoinette Hanschke had booked flights to go to Adelaide to see her family but now her trip is in doubt.

"I haven't seen them since [January] before it all happened and I've had a pretty tough year — I think everyone has — so it would be nice to go and see them," she said.

"My best friend's just had a baby, and I really wanted to give my mum a hug to be honest — my mum and my granddad [are] the main family I wanted to see over there."

Qantas and Jetstar said in a statement they were likely to reduce Adelaide flights from next week and were offering flexible options to customers.

"With isolation or quarantine requirements changing for travellers from South Australia in a number of states and territories, we have already seen a number of customers booked to travel to and from Adelaide in the next few days take up this option," a spokesperson said.

South Australia's chief public health officer Dr Nicola Spurrier said a medi-hotel — accommodation used by incoming travellers and local residents who cannot safely quarantine at home — where one of the infected people worked was thought to be the source of the positive cases, but genomic testing would be undertaken to determine the source.

Tasmania has agreed to receive up to 450 returning Australians who will fly in to Hobart where they will spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival.

Mr Gutwein said the state was still working out the exact details with the Commonwealth.

The first international charter flight for returning Australians to touch down in Tasmania, carrying about 120 people, was expected to arrive by November 22, but has been deferred.

"We won't have a flight arriving here on the 22nd of November, the earliest schedule would be around the first week of December," Mr Gutwein said.

Deputy State Controller Scott Tilyard earlier said South Australia had run one of the most successful and robust hotel quarantine programs.

"Even with the best protocols in the world there's no zero risk situation, there are always risks associated with anything to do with a virus like COVID and you put in place as robust measures as you possibly can but there's no absolute guarantee," he said.

"But people can be confident that we have done absolutely everything that we can to plan and prepare and manage the facility that will be used here in a safe way."

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As the Adelaide COVID-19 cluster grows to 22 positive cases, the state is preparing for a six-day "circuit breaker" lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, which SA Premier Steven Marshall called "a particularly sneaky strain".

South Australia's chief health officer, Nicola Spurrier, added that the strain behind the cluster has "certain characteristics".

"It has a very, very short incubation period," Professor Spurrier said.

"That means when somebody gets exposed, it is taking 24 hours or even less for that person to become infectious to others."

So what do we know about the strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind the cluster in Adelaide?

Where did it come from and how did it get out?
Professor Spurrier has said the source of the infection was a returned overseas traveller, who was serving the mandatory two-week quarantine period at the Peppers Waymouth medi-hotel in Adelaide's CBD.

A cleaner picked up the infection, allegedly via a surface, earlier this month. They then passed it on to two security guards, who were also working in the Peppers medi-hotel.

None showed any symptoms.

The first case to be identified was a woman in her 80s who tested positive on November 14.

As of Tuesday, "around 4,000 people who are close contacts are now in quarantine", Professor Spurrier said.

So … is this a new strain?
Eddie Holmes, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Sydney, says without seeing the circulating virus's genomic data — that is, its DNA sequence — talk of a new strain was speculative.

"Unless there is some virus genome sequence data for the strain associated with the Adelaide outbreak, I don't think there's anything much that can be said at the moment," Professor Holmes says.

"My guess is that this will be a 'standard' variant of SARS-CoV-2 that has got into a big cluster of susceptible hosts and so is able to spread rapidly, but I've not seen any data."

Bill Rawlinson, head of UNSW's virology research laboratory, agrees.

"But the genomic data are emerging and are being supplied over the next couple of days," Professor Rawlinson says.

David Ascher, a University of Melbourne computational biologist who developed a tool to monitor COVID-19 mutations, is also keen to see the data.

In its absence, he suspects the Adelaide strain is one that is "dominating the vast majority of all the COVID cases around the world at the moment".

The strain has what's known as the D614G gene mutation, a tweak in the virus's DNA that means it spreads to others more easily.

The D614G strain rapidly spread around the globe, including Victoria, and accounts for "pretty much 90 per cent or more" of the COVID-19 going around Europe at the moment, Dr Ascher says.

"I don't think Adelaide will have something that is that unique from everywhere else."

s the virus behaving unusually in Adelaide?
Professor Spurrier has indicated that some people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Adelaide's latest cluster are spreading the virus within a day of being exposed.

She also stressed that people with "minimal" or "no symptoms" have been able to pass the virus onto others.

But Kirsty Short, a virologist at the University of Queensland, said neither of those things were particularly surprising.

"The incubation period for this virus is on average five to six days, but their range is anywhere from two to 14 days," Dr Short says.

"What we know about this virus is that for the period of about two days before you're symptomatic, you can spread the virus to other individuals."

The incubation period is the number of days between when someone is infected and when they may begin to show symptoms.

"I think it would be unusual if every single case had that [short] incubation period, but certainly for some cases to have that, that's perfectly within the range of what would be expected," Dr Short says.

"It may be that the virus is spreading rapidly in the community, but it could just be the nature of the individuals who are infected.

"We know this virus is prone to superspreader events, so it could be that there was a superspreader event."

How much has the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutated?
In general, SARS-CoV-2 is not thought to be particularly fast mutating.

While it's normal for viruses to mutate — and for there to be slight variations between different virus samples or "isolates" — in order for a new strain of the virus to be identified, it must have a mutation that has some sort of significant effect on the way the virus behaves.

Dr Short says only two strains of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified globally.

"That's going by the definition that … you need to have a mutation that has some sort of effect on how the virus behaves," Dr Short says.

"We have found one mutation that seems to affect how the virus behaves, at least in experimental studies, and the evidence is mounting for that."

That's the strain with the D614G gene mutation, which Dr Short agrees is possibly circulating in South Australia.

"[In] everything else, we haven't found a mutation [that] has a functional consequence, so I wouldn't call it a strain," she says.

"For this to be a completely new strain that's suddenly popped up in South Australia would be very unusual."

The good news is SARS-CoV-2's relatively slow mutation rate is unlikely to affect vaccine effectiveness, at least for now, Dr Ascher says.

"There was a really nice study a couple of months ago that said, 'yes, there's been accumulation, and, there could be mutations in the future that reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines'," he says.

"But at the moment, we're just not seeing enough of that to really be too concerned that that's going to have a real-world impact."

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Australia announces six-day Covid lockdown as ‘circuit breaker’ to avoid second wave

The South Australian government has announced an immediate six-day lockdown followed by a further week of tough restrictions as the state scrambles to avoid a second wave of coronavirus infections.
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The Guardian logoSouth Australia announces six-day Covid lockdown as ‘circuit breaker’ to avoid second wave

The South Australian government has announced an immediate six-day lockdown followed by a further week of tough restrictions as the state scrambles to avoid a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The lockdown will take effect from midnight on Wednesday after the Parafield cluster, which started from a hotel quarantine breach, grew by two overnight to reach 22 confirmed cases.

The premier, Steven Marshall, said the state needed a “circuit breaker” to allow for a contact-tracing blitz so South Australia didn’t face a crisis as Victoria experienced.

“Our concern is that if we don’t have this circuit breaker … we will not stay ahead of this,” Marshall told reporters on Wednesday. “There is no second chance to stop a second wave. We are at a critical point but we will get through this.”

Under the six-day lockdown, schools will be closed except for vulnerable children and those of essential workers. Universities will be shut down, as will pubs, cafes and food courts. There will be no funerals or weddings, outdoor exercise is banned and regional travel is prohibited, meaning people must remain where they are.

The state’s chief health officer, Prof Nicola Spurrier, said that although there were only two cases reported overnight, an additional seven people were either waiting for test results or had returned a “suspicious” negative test.

“Due to the high risk of onward transmission and the community, all of those suspected cases are going to be treated as infectious,” Spurrier said. “We want people, for the next six days, to go home, make sure they have got their supplies, and to really spend as much time in that one place as they possibly can, leaving just for essential food, essential medical requirements and the like.”

People have also been told by health authorities to wear masks whenever they outside their home.

The South Australian restrictions come as the Western Australia premier, Mark McGowan, announced a hard border closure with South Australia from Wednesday evening.

“As Steven Marshall goes further into lockdown, I will support him,” McGowan said. “It is the right thing to do. If that is the medical advice and the judgement of the officials, I will support him.”

The Northern Territory gave an update on its border restrictions limiting the hotspot declaration in South Australia to mainly encompass Adelaide and the surrounding suburbs. In New South Wales, arrivals from South Australia are being screened off planes, trains and buses, but motorists are not being monitored.

A NSW Health spokesperson told the Guardian that people who had travelled from South Australia ahead of the lockdown were being asked to check if they had attended any of the venues of concern and to monitor for symptoms.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, urged residents to delay or revise non-essential travel to South Australia but remained steadfast in refusing to close the border. NSW police told the Guardian they were not involved in any of NSW Health’s operations and were not currently manning the border.

Related: We will all suffer if the 'free market economy' decides who gets Covid-19 vaccine | Barbara Mintzes for The Conversation

The Victorian health department has authorised officers to meet and screen flights arriving from Adelaide. Passengers are required to provide their details and undergo temperature and symptom checks. Anyone who has arrived in Victoria from an “area of risk identified by the South Australian government” is being asked to isolate and get tested immediately.

Victoria, like NSW, will keep its border with South Australia open but is establishing a coronavirus testing site for interstate truck drivers. The testing site will be set up in Nhill, near the SA border, and will start on Thursday.

The NSW and Victorian governments are both advising people to get tested even if they have the mildest of symptoms. Both states recorded another day of zero cases and zero deaths on Wednesday.

The ACT reported one new case on Wednesday after a diplomat tested positive. Health authorities said the man, in his 30s, was in isolation after having flown into Sydney before travelling to Canberra in a private vehicle.

The territory government has urged people to avoid all non-essential travel between the ACT and South Australia for the time being.

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Key points:
The SA Government made a snap announcement on Wednesday, enforcing a six-day, state-wide lockdown from midnight
Masks and household items have flown off the shelves across regional SA in response to the rigid restrictions
Travellers in regional locations say a ban on all non-essential travel is causing stress

In an unprecedented day for South Australia, regional communities across the state have been preparing for a complete COVID-19 lockdown from midnight.

The State Government made a snap announcement around noon on Wednesday, ordering all South Australians to stay at home for the next six days unless shopping for essential items.

It also ordered a ban on all non-essential travel to and from regional areas, strongly recommended mask wearing outside the home, and many businesses to close.

Regional communities responded to the tough restrictions by heading to supermarkets, panic buying essential items including masks.

Some chemists reported selling almost 600 masks within hours of the announcement.

To stay regional or go?
In Port Lincoln, visitors to the city have been trying to assess if they will make it home before the lockdown restrictions are imposed.

Port Lincoln Hotel rooms division manager Katherine Arthur said the hotel received mass cancellations, but there were many people still unsure of what to do.

"We've had people arriving this afternoon who have already driven for seven or eight hours, so I guess it's quite dangerous for them to be turning around and driving that same distance back again," she said.

It was a concern Kerstin Tromans, from Adelaide, also shared, despite being forced to travel back to the city.

"It is pretty crazy on the roads, and we don't want to risk it," she said.

"We've just driven a couple of hours just to get here as we've been camping and we're a bit tired, so I don't really want to risk driving back and not being safe about it."

For Adelaide's Janet Bonython and Mal McEwan, who were also in Port Lincoln, the seven-hour drive back home had forced them to stay at a friend's house.

"At home we'd just be inside too, so we might as well be locked down here — we weren't due home until Monday," Ms Bonython said.

Elective surgeries off the table
Barney McCusker, an orthopaedic surgeon in Mount Gambier, was given a verbal instruction to cancel all elective surgery scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

"I totally support the Government in that; I think they're doing the right thing," he said.

"This is the nature of this disease and this is what we've got to get used to in the COVID normal — to be nimble, the word is nimble."

He said people would still be able to access surgery on an emergency basis, for example in the case of broken bones.

"We'll continue to look after all of their needs," Dr McCusker said.

Quick transition to online learning
In the state's Riverland, St Albert's Catholic School Loxton principal Brett Czechowski is working hastily to start delivering online education from Thursday morning.

While schools will remain open for children of essential workers for the next six days, other students will be required to learn from home.

"The good thing is that because we had an experience of COVID many months ago, schools are well in a position now to revert back to a lot of the processes that we already had put in place," Mr Czechowski said.

"So for many of us now it's simply a matter of trying to reinstate those measures that we put in place, such as online learning and the preparation of materials.

"It just happens to be on a much shorter timeline."

A financially tough reality for small hospitality businesses
For smaller takeaway restaurants, the prospect of being forced to close the doors for the next week will have big financial implications.

In Port Pirie, CJ1 Indian Curry owner, Suresh Kamal, said he feared the business might not continue beyond the six-day shutdown.

"When it goes for six days, it will be very hard for me to survive," he said.

"The electricity bill, gas bill, and rent and my food."

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Key points:
Most shops will be closed in South Australia from Thursday
South Australia's police commissioner has warned people not to panic buy
People have been panic buying

South Australians are rushing to stock up on essential items ahead of Thursday's lockdown despite the police commissioner warning against panic buying.
There were long lines at supermarket across Adelaide on Wednesday afternoon, along with bottle shops and businesses selling face masks.

From Thursday, most businesses will be closed for six days, to stop the Parafield cluster of coronavirus cases spreading further.

Businesses that will remain open include supermarkets, petrol stations, bottle shops, post offices, banks, vets and medical services.People have been stripping stores of toilet paper, tissues, masks, hand sanitiser, pasta, bread and rice.

There has also been panic buying in regional areas.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said Wednesday would be very challenging for retailers.

"Supermarkets are going to be open beyond today, there is no need for people to rush to supermarkets, and if you do go shopping this afternoon, you are going to be managed by staff at the supermarkets," Mr Stevens said.

"We will have police officers on standby to attend if we see any civil disorder and we will be taking action.

"This is completely unacceptable — there is no need for panic buying."

Security guards are in place at the Central Market to control crowds.
Mr Stevens warned people to be considerate.

"If you're going to go shopping, think about other people, treat everybody with respect and a bit of kindness," he said.

"Everybody's in the same boat."

Run on face masks
Until now South Australians have been free to go about their lives without wearing face masks, and stores, including pharmacies, are reporting a rush on their supplies of the protective gear.

Pharmacist Greg Scarlett said there were queues outside of his chemist where masks have sold out and that they might not be available for days.

"'There is a run' is an understatement," he said.

"There's a line up outside my door after masks and we've completely sold out here.

"I know that's the case with a lot of community pharmacies at the moment and we're now waiting for more supplies to come in."

One woman the ABC spoke to visited two supermarkets to stock up.

"There's not much in Coles — it's more or less empty in there — so I grabbed what I could grab [and] I have come to Woolies to grab a couple more things," she said.

"It's better to be safe than sorry, but [I'm] a bit nervous about the COVID coming back."

Another woman said she was "just getting some cheese and bikkies"

"As long as I've got my Netflix, it's all good. We've got to pull together and go with it," she said.

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South Australia will go into lockdown from midnight on Thursday.

The extreme restrictions will last for six days and will be followed by a further eight days of reduced restrictions.

South Australian Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier has warned there is only a "very small window" to stamp the virus out.

Here's what you need to know.

What's closing down?
All schools will close from Thursday, except for the children of essential workers and vulnerable students.

Universities will have to close too.

All outdoor exercise and sport will be banned.

Aged care and disability care facilities will all go into lockdown, but end-of-life visits will be allowed.

All hospitality businesses — including takeaway food and food courts — will need to close.

Elective surgeries will be postponed, except for urgent operations and cancer treatment.

The construction industry will not be allowed to operate, while open inspections and house auctions will be cancelled.

Holiday homes will not be available for lease, and weddings and funerals will be banned for the full six days.

What's staying open?
Supermarkets will stay open.
BUT NOT BOTTLE SHOPS.

Medical services, including mental health services, will also be available, as will veterinary services.

Childcare centres will be allowed to operate, but only for families of essential workers.

Essential services like water, power and telecommunications services will keep running, along with essential aspects of mining, smelting and large factory operations.

Public transport, airport and freight services will all continue to operate, as will petrol stations, banks and post offices.

Am I allowed to leave the house?
Everyone must stay at home, except when completing essential activities.

Essential workers will be allowed to travel to and from work.

You will be allowed to leave the house to seek medical care or provide care for another person.

One person per household will be allowed to shop for food once per day.

What else do I need to know?
Health authorities want masks to be worn everywhere outside the home.

Interstate travel is strongly discouraged.

Anyone who is currently on holiday within South Australia has been told to decide where they would like to spend the next six days.

In other words, if you're visiting a holiday house or on a camping trip away from home and decide to stay there, you'll need to stay there for six days after midnight.

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Long queues are forming at testing sites across South Australia this morning, with waiting times currently sitting at three hours.

Some people arrived at the Parafield testing site at 5am AEDST to secure their place in line, ready for another mammoth day of testing.

Meanwhile, anyone who ate pizza from a single restaurant in Adelaide over the last two weeks is being told to immediately isolate and seek a coronavirus test as authorities race to contain the new outbreak across the state.

SA Health has linked more than a dozen schools, supermarkets, cafes and hotels to its growing outbreak after confirming five new cases yesterday.

It last night released the details of the new hotspot locations and public transport routes (listed in full below), including a specific warning for anyone who visited or got takeaway, including delivery, from the Woodville Pizza Bar between November 6 and 16.

Those customers "must immediately self-quarantine for 14 days and seek testing. This includes people who live with you," SA Health said.


One of the new infections is linked to the Anglicare aged care facility in Brompton while the other three are family members of a security guard at Peppers medi-hotel in the Adelaide CBD.

The fifth case and its source is under investigation.

Plans to move travellers out from the Peppers medi-hotel, so it can undergo deep cleaning, were scrapped late last night.

Many inside are said to be relieved they don't have to move to another location but are furious about having to spend another 14-days in quarantine, taking that total for some to 28 days.

A total of 20 cases are now linked to the cluster, but another 14 people have been deemed "high-risk" and may return positive results.

he ages of South Australia's new coronavirus cases range from in their teens to in their 50s and all of them have very mild symptoms or none at all.

Thousands of South Australians have been tested in the last 24 hours with most people waiting hours in long lines.

Some turned up to testing sites hours before opening to secure their place in line and ensure they were seen by health staff.

Similar scenes are likely today.

Premier Steven Marshall thanked the public for coming out in record numbers.

"I'm now advised that today we are on track for more than 6000," he said.

"This is nothing short of sensational and will be a record for South Australia."

Despite the large number of tests, Mr Marshall warned that South Australia was only in the initial stages of dealing with the outbreak.

"We are not out of the woods yet. We are just at the beginning stages of dealing with this nasty cluster in Parafield," he said.

"We are going to get through this but we are going to get through this with the cooperation of every single South Australian citizen. Everybody must play their role in making sure we stop this disease in its tracks."

About 4000 people, who are close contacts of confirmed or suspected South Australian coronavirus cases, are now in quarantine.

Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said they are being contacted on a daily basis for a symptom check.

"This is a huge amount of work to make sure we are in regular contact with these people," she said.

New health advice has been issued for people who visited The Aquadome at Elizabeth.

Anyone who was at The Aquadome between 11am and 1.30pm on Saturday, November 14 is being asked to quarantine for 14 days and get tested immediately.

"We think that the exposure was more significant and we want those people to get into quarantine immediately," Professor Spurrier said.

"Obviously we will be chasing up with The Aquadome to see if we can get direct contact details but this is an early warning to those people."

Five schools have now been closed in Adelaide due to coronavirus concerns.

The Roma Mitchell College has been forced to close along with Mawson Lakes Primary School and Preschool, Thomas More College, the Holy Family Catholic School and Mount Carmel College.

"Some closures may be longer than others and it really depends on when we get the interviews through and get more information, then we can make a determination," Professor Spurrier said.

New alert locations
If you visited any of the below locations during the listed times, you do not need to self-quarantine. Monitor yourself for symptoms. You only need to get tested if you have symptoms:

- Bensons Radiology, 3/18 North Terrace, Adelaide on Friday November 13 between 8.30am – 8.45am

- Stratco, 59 Port Wakefield Road, Gepps Cross, Saturday November 14, between 12.45pm – 1.25pm

- Elizabeth Shopping Centre, Elizabeth, Wednesday November 11 between 10.00am – 10.45am

- Morphett Arms Hotel, 138 Morphett Road, Glengowrie, Friday November 13 between 5.00pm – 10.00pm

- Prime Liquidators, 6 Philips Crescent, Hendon, Saturday November 14, 12.00pm – 12.30pm

- Funk Coffee, T15/200-220 Commercial Road, Port Adelaide, Saturday November 14, between 5.00pm – 5.15pm

- Hungry Jacks, 321 Commercial Road, Port Adelaide, between 7.30pm Friday November 13 and 2.30am Saturday November 14

- United Petrol Station, 128 Grand Junction Road, Rosewater on Friday November 13 at approximately 3pm

- Foodland, 144 Grand Junction Road, Rosewater on Thursday November 12 at 7.45 pm for approximately five minutes

- Hollywood Fresh Fruit Shop, Hollywood Plaza, Salisbury Downs, Saturday November 14 between 10.00am – 11.00am

- Eblen Collision Repair, 240 Brighton Road, Somerton on Thursday November 12 between 8.00am – 4.30pm and Friday November 13 between 8.00am – 4.30pm

- Coles, Cheltenham Parade, St Clair on Friday November 13 between 4.00pm – 4.20pm

- Westlakes Shopping Centre, Westlakes (Kmart, San Churros, NK Fashion, Coles) on Sunday November 15 between 1.45pm – 3.45pm

Public transport
Anyone who travelled the following routes is also encouraged to monitor for symptoms and get tested if any develop:

- Bus 502 - Bus Stop H2 on Grenfell Street, Adelaide on Friday November 13 between 9.00am – 9.30am

- Bus (GA1/GA2/GA3) from the bus stop near Adelaide train station on Wednesday November 11 between 3.40pm – 4.38pm

- 502x Bus at Stop 39 on Bridge Road, Para Hills to Stop S1 on Grenfell Street on Friday November 13 between 7.45am – 8.15am

Education
Advice has been issued for the following locations:

- Thomas More College

- Roma Mitchell Secondary College

- Mawson Lakes School and Preschool

- Holy Family Catholic School

- Goodstart Early Learning Child Care Centre Parafield Gardens

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