coronavirus, Canberra coronavirus, Canberra COVID-19, ACT COVID, Adelaide coronavirus outbreak, South Australia coronavirus, Can I travel from Canberra to Adelaide
Five travellers from Adelaide have been forced into Canberra quarantine after arriving in the capital on Monday night. ACT Health has increased its COVID-19 safety measures at Canberra Airport in response to a spike in cases in Adelaide, screening passengers when they arrive from South Australia and testing anyone who shows symptoms or has had close contact with a case. Two flights landed on Monday night and another two will arrive on Tuesday, but it is unclear if the screening will extend to passengers who arrive via connecting flights from Sydney or Melbourne. ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says passengers will be asked a series of questions and then tested if they have had close contact with a coronavirus case or been to any of the identified hotspots in Adelaide. “About 250 people were met on the two flights [on Monday] and we’re expecting about another 110 today, maybe a bit more, on the two flights that are coming in,” she said on ABC Canberra. “Of those people who were met last night, five of them were identified as having symptoms and all of them were able to have their swabs taken for testing at the airport and asked to go home and isolate. “None of those people were assessed as being a high risk of being exposed to the virus, but they did have symptoms … having them tested at the airport was very precautionary.” The minister said she did not know how the tested passengers travelled to isolation. She said a hard-border closure between Canberra and South Australia would be difficult to implement. South Australia recorded one new COVID-19 infection overnight and officials have identified 41 potential locations as virus contact points. An aged care home caught up in an outbreak of coronavirus in Adelaide’s north says two more staff members have tested positive to COVID-19, taking the total number of infected workers to four. MORE NEWS The ACT government will continue accepting travellers from Adelaide despite several states and territories shutting their borders to South Australia on Monday. Five people showed mild symptoms when they arrived in the capital and were told to isolate until they get the results of their COVID-19 test. As of Monday afternoon, the so-called Parafield cluster in Adelaide had grown to 17. The cases range from a one-year-old to two people in their 80s and taking the total number of active infections in SA to 34. The other 17 are returned, overseas travellers. All are in hotel quarantine, except for two from the new outbreak who have been admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital as a precaution because of their age. Three staff, including two security guards, from one of Adelaide’s quarantine hotels are among those who tested positive. Staff at all quarantine hotels will now be tested weekly. The growing cluster has prompted the SA government to reimpose a range of coronavirus restrictions. From Tuesday, all gyms, recreation centres and play cafes are closed for two weeks with community sports fixtures and training cancelled. Funerals and family gatherings are now capped at 50 people, and all church gatherings at 100 people. Pubs, clubs and restaurants are limited to 100 people along with all other public gatherings. All venues must abide by a rule of one person to every four square metres. Masks are mandatory for workers in personal care businesses and for workers in aged care if physical distancing is not possible. Aged care workers will be limited working at just one site but schools will remain open. The government has also asked all people to work from home if they can and to reconsider unnecessary travel of any kind. – With AAP
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Five travellers from Adelaide have been forced into Canberra quarantine after arriving in the capital on Monday night.
ACT Health has increased its COVID-19 safety measures at Canberra Airport in response to a spike in cases in Adelaide, screening passengers when they arrive from South Australia and testing anyone who shows symptoms or has had close contact with a case.
Two flights landed on Monday night and another two will arrive on Tuesday, but it is unclear if the screening will extend to passengers who arrive via connecting flights from Sydney or Melbourne.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says passengers will be asked a series of questions and then tested if they have had close contact with a coronavirus case or been to any of the identified hotspots in Adelaide.
“About 250 people were met on the two flights [on Monday] and we’re expecting about another 110 today, maybe a bit more, on the two flights that are coming in,” she said on ABC Canberra.
“Of those people who were met last night, five of them were identified as having symptoms and all of them were able to have their swabs taken for testing at the airport and asked to go home and isolate.
“None of those people were assessed as being a high risk of being exposed to the virus, but they did have symptoms … having them tested at the airport was very precautionary.”
The minister said she did not know how the tested passengers travelled to isolation. She said a hard-border closure between Canberra and South Australia would be difficult to implement.
South Australia recorded one new COVID-19 infection overnight and officials have identified 41 potential locations as virus contact points.
An aged care home caught up in an outbreak of coronavirus in Adelaide’s north says two more staff members have tested positive to COVID-19, taking the total number of infected workers to four.
The ACT government will continue accepting travellers from Adelaide despite several states and territories shutting their borders to South Australia on Monday. Five people showed mild symptoms when they arrived in the capital and were told to isolate until they get the results of their COVID-19 test.
As of Monday afternoon, the so-called Parafield cluster in Adelaide had grown to 17. The cases range from a one-year-old to two people in their 80s and taking the total number of active infections in SA to 34. The other 17 are returned, overseas travellers.
All are in hotel quarantine, except for two from the new outbreak who have been admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital as a precaution because of their age.
Three staff, including two security guards, from one of Adelaide’s quarantine hotels are among those who tested positive.
Staff at all quarantine hotels will now be tested weekly.
The growing cluster has prompted the SA government to reimpose a range of coronavirus restrictions.
From Tuesday, all gyms, recreation centres and play cafes are closed for two weeks with community sports fixtures and training cancelled.
Funerals and family gatherings are now capped at 50 people, and all church gatherings at 100 people.
Pubs, clubs and restaurants are limited to 100 people along with all other public gatherings.
All venues must abide by a rule of one person to every four square metres.
Masks are mandatory for workers in personal care businesses and for workers in aged care if physical distancing is not possible.
Aged care workers will be limited working at just one site but schools will remain open.
The government has also asked all people to work from home if they can and to reconsider unnecessary travel of any kind.
