13.07.2021
2 min read

SA Health lists Shell service station as COVID-19 exposure site after positive case visits

Authorities are concerned people may have been exposed to the virus by infected removalists.

Midday COVID-19 update - July 13

Dozens of South Australians will be forced to isolate after potentially coming into contact with coronavirus-infected removalists who visited a regional service station.

SA Health has identified the Shell service station in Tailem Bend, 97km southeast of Adelaide, as an exposure site.

Anyone who attended the station last Friday between 5:20pm and 7pm must isolate and get tested, along with their close contacts.

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An employee who has since been deemed to be symptomatic is in isolation and will be urgently tested.

The three removalists, two of whom have tested positive, had travelled from Sydney through Victoria to McLaren Vale, where they unloaded furniture for a relocating family.

People at a service station at Tailem Bend during the exposure window must isolate and get tested. Credit: AAP

They stopped in Tailem Bend on their way back to NSW.

There were 18 QR code check-ins during that period but authorities believe it’s possible there may have been other people present.

“We will work very quickly now to put everybody that we need to into quarantine so that we can minimise the risk of this spreading in South Australia,” Premier Steven Marshall told reporters on Tuesday.

“The good news is we don’t believe there are any exposure sites whatsoever in McLaren Vale.”

"‘We are still stepping through and mapping out a clear timeline.’"

Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage to determine whether the removalists made any other stops in SA on their return trip.

“We are still stepping through and mapping out a clear timeline of the driver’s movements within SA,” deputy chief public health officer Emily Kirkpatrick said.

The family members who moved to SA have all tested negative so far and are in quarantine as close contacts of a confirmed virus case.

From Tuesday, all people entering SA from Sydney will require an exemption and face tougher checks before being granted permission.

South Australia’s Premier Steven Marshall. Credit: MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE

This will include assurances of a suitable location to quarantine for two weeks.

About 950 people returned last week, but Marshall says authorities want to “seriously turn that tap off” with the system no longer a “box-ticking exercise”.

“Exemptions will be approved but on a much narrower basis. There will be a high level of scrutiny,” he said.

SA will also increase restrictions on the freight sector from Thursday, with anyone entering SA required to have a test and be subject to stricter rules around their activities.

Those include avoiding contact with other members of the public while in the state.

SA recorded no new cases on Tuesday, leaving the state with 19 active cases.