Tough COVID-19 restrictions imposed in three SA council areas

Fresh COVID-19 restrictions are being imposed in three council areas in South Australia’s south-east, while authorities investigate the movements of a Mount Gambier resident who has tested positive for the virus.

The woman told authorities she had crossed the South Australian-Victorian border to Casterton, but SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has confirmed authorities are still investigating her movements, including whether she may have travelled to Melbourne.

Yesterday, the woman was flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital and she is now in the Tom’s Court medi-hotel with her four children.

SA Health has identified 12 primary close contacts of the woman, including her four children.

So far, 10 of those have returned negative COVID-19 tests, while 21 secondary close contacts have been identified, with five returning negative tests.

The new restrictions have taken immediate effect in the Mount Gambier, Wattle Range and Grant council areas and are due to last at least seven days. 

They include tighter limits on public venues, private gatherings and visitors to homes.

“Density requirements will be restricted to one person per 4 square metres in all venues. Home gatherings — you’ll only be able to have two visitors to the home above those people who normally reside there,” Commissioner Stevens said.

“Private activities will be restricted to 10 people, maximum.

“The purpose of this is to dramatically reduce movement within these local government areas while the investigation continues into the movement of this particular woman and her family.”

Spectators have been banned from local sporting events.

Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the woman had been cooperating with authorities, but could not confirm whether she had visited Casterton, where locals were on edge.

“I can’t tell you at this point in time whether or not she did visit that town but we’ll be seeking further information,” Professor Spurrier said.

“We are starting to get a little bit more information from this particular individual because there are people [who] have come forward and said they feel they may have had contact with her.

“There are a number of reasons why people don’t always tell us absolutely what they have been up to and one of those is that they might be frightened or they might be anxious.

“I’m not going to be pulled [into], ‘Was she lying?’

“Sometimes people have had issues with authority figures in the past, they may have come from a different background, they might have come from overseas, they might speak a different language, so there are all sorts of reasons why people may not tell us the full story right at the beginning.”

The Mount Gambier case prompted authorities to tighten South Australia’s border bubble with Victoria on Sunday.

Another truck driver tests positive

South Australia has also recorded a new COVID-19 case, a truck driver who arrived from Victoria on Saturday night.

The man in his 30s developed symptoms yesterday and has returned to Victoria, with the OTR petrol station and convenience outlet in Port Augusta identified as an exposure site.

“That includes both the petrol station and the truckie lounge,” Professor Spurrier said.

The man, who has had his first vaccine dose, is the latest truck driver to test positive in recent weeks.

Professor Spurrier said testing rates in SA were currently below expectations, and praised the Mount Gambier woman for getting tested, enabling authorities to react swiftly.

Commissioner Stevens said as long as there was uncertainty surrounding her movements, it would be premature to revert to the previous border bubble arrangements.

“It is too early to make any immediate changes to the border bubble restriction that was put in place just a few hours ago,” he said.

“We don’t have enough information to have confidence we’re on top of this person’s movements.”

Grant District Council has one of the lowest vaccination rates of any local government area in Australia.

Data published today by the federal Department of Health showed 20.8 per cent of people in the area have received at least one COVID-19 vaccinations, while 11.5 per cent have had their second dose.

But Professor Spurrier said some residents of the council area might have put their address down as a Mount Gambier PO Box, boosting the percentage for that city and artificially lowering the rate for Grant.

Border change frustrates pregnant mum

Casterton resident Laura Killey-Devereux is 32 weeks pregnant and was due to have a caesarean at the Mount Gambier Hospital on November 24.

However, this morning she got a call from the hospital, suggesting she look for a different option because the changes to the border mean she may not be able to travel to South Australia.

“It’s disappointing and made me fairly angry,” she said.

Ms Killey-Devereux will now have to consider traveling to Hamilton, Portland or Warrnambool to give birth.

“My options are quite limited because I’ve got two other children that are five and three — one has autism — so you don’t want to be too far away from home,” she said.

“It’s like South Australia is jumping the gun and reducing the border bubble so quickly without any further details.”

Ms Killey-Devereux said she was not the only person in her family to be affected by the border changes.

Her sister-in-law had to cancel her wedding, which was due to take place in Penola this Saturday, because many of the guests from Casterton were unable to attend.

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