25.11.2020
3 min read

SA COVID patients to be placed in hospital amid fears over Peppers Hotel outbreak

Any person who contracts coronavirus in South Australia will now be sent to hospital under police guard.
Emily OlleBy Emily Olle

7NEWS Update: November 25

Any person who contracts COVID-19 in a South Australian medi-hotel will be placed into a hospital facility under the guard of police as authorities scramble to clamp down on outbreak concerns.

Premier Steven Marshall said CCTV related to ‘patient zero’ of the Parafield cluster has been forensically examined and showed no deliberate breach of protocol and no evidence of a person being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A security guard is believed to have become infected by a returned traveller from the UK and then passed the virus on to a repatriated couple who flew in from Nepal on November 11.

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“This is a new virus and we are learning more about it every single day,” Marshall said.

“What we must do is put as many shields as possible between the virus and the community... working together to beat the silent enemy.”

All positive COVID-19 cases will be transferred from medi-hotels to a dedicated health facility.

A back-of-house staff member at Peppers Hotel was infected by a surface in the facility's kitchens. Credit: Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Marshall said, at this stage, that is likely to be the old Wakefield Hospital.

All staff working at the facility will not be deployed to any other medi-hotels or high-risk environments, such as aged care homes or correctional facilities.

They will also have access to the ‘Hotel for Heroes’ facility to give them the option to isolate away from home.

The state government will also ask National Cabinet to consider forcing returning travellers to undergo a COVID-19 test and return a negative result before boarding their flight to Adelaide.

Quarantine concerns

Concerns are growing over the efficacy of the state’s medi-hotel system as it was revealed two new cases announced on Tuesday are linked to the Parafield cluster.

The two patients, a husband and wife who returned from overseas on November 11, caught the infection while quarantined in Peppers Hotel.

Health authorities said the two new cases have been genomically linked to the northern suburbs outbreak but aren’t close contacts of a known case, raising questions as to just how they were infected in what’s supposed to be a fully-secure environment.

Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier says, despite the new cases within Peppers Hotel, those already completing a second round of quarantine will be freed so long as their COVID-19 tests come back negative.

The state's health chief has uncharacteristically lost her cool as questions are raised over an outbreak inside Peppers Hotel. Credit: 7NEWS

Spurrier says the cases within the Peppers facility are a reminder of “just how infectious” the virus is.

“I knew COVID-19 was highly transmissable... but it is even more transmissable than I initially thought,” she said.

“We have the best PPE and best systems set up - and that’s been documented by a national review - but you can still transmit this virus.

The Stamford medi-hotel in Adelaide. Credit: AAP

“Everyone who needs to be in quarantine is... we need to determine exactly how this has been transmitted, then we need to make changes.”

Despite the fresh concerns, the health chief said she doesn’t believe anyone was in the “wrong room at the wrong time”.

“At the end of the day, please can I remind you, there is never zero risk,” she said.

“We can be cleared of the virus in South Australia and not have it for many months but we do not eliminate the risk of getting it back.”

No new cases were identified on Wednesday, with the Parafield cluster remaining at 29 infections.