Former SA premier Jay Weatherill tests positive for COVID-19

Former SA premier Jay Weatherill has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an event over the weekend where other cases were present.

Mr Weatherill was at a school reunion on Saturday in Norwood, in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs, with other interstate travellers.

Mr Weatherill resides in Perth now, but travelled to Adelaide in recent days, after South Australia’s borders opened.

He has taken part in a number of high-level meetings during his time in SA, including with Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas on Monday.

Mr Malinauskas said he would get tested and isolate for the time being.

“Upon hearing the news this evening that Jay Weatherill has tested positive, I immediately left parliament at 8:20pm and went to Victoria Park to get tested,” he tweeted.

“I will isolate while I await the test results and further advice from SA Health.”

Mr Weatherill, who works for Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, was in Adelaide to begin an interstate tour as CEO of the foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign, promoting early childhood development.

He held a press conference on Monday morning and was set to speak at other events in Victoria in the coming days.

Earlier, SA Health confirmed two South Australian men in their 50s had caught the virus after attending a school reunion at Theatre Bugs children’s theatre in Norwood on Saturday night.

They are the first cases of local transmission in South Australia since the state’s borders reopened eight days ago.

But it is understood there are likely to be further cases including Mr Weatherill and a staff member at Theatre Bugs.

On Wednesday night, a school in Adelaide’s north-west, Ocean View College B-12, confirmed a member of its school community had tested positive.

The school will be closed on Thursday to allow for cleaning and contact tracing.

Mr Weatherill has appeared on Adelaide radio since his arrival, and was spotted dining with former MP John Rau and Mr Malinauskas at Parlamento restaurant, opposite the parliament, on Monday.

Mr Malinauskas said he had already decided to get tested before confirmation of Mr Weatherill’s diagnosis, and has revised his official schedule.

“Upon hearing this news, out of an abundance of caution, I cancelled my planned appearance at a high school graduation tonight.”

Mr Weatherill’s positive test could have implications for Thursday’s sitting of state parliament.

Both Mr Malinauskas and deputy leader Susan Close will potentially still be isolating awaiting COVID-19 test results, after being in contact with the former premier.

Thursday is the last scheduled sitting day of parliament before the March election, and the government is expected to seek to wind-up proceedings, while Labor is tipped to seek further sitting weeks into the new year.

Neither party holds a majority in the House of Assembly, and the balance of power became even more tenuous on Tuesday, when Attorney-General Vickie Chapman was suspended from the chamber for six days for misleading the house.

While no further cases have yet been linked to it, the reunion at Theatre Bugs is now looming as a potential spreader event.

Anyone who attended between 2pm on Saturday and 2am on Sunday has been ordered to immediately get tested and quarantine.

The site has now been deemed by SA Health as a “close contact exposure location”.

Unvaccinated attendees during the exposure period will have to quarantine for “14 days since you were at the location”, while vaccinated contacts will be allowed out after seven days, but then must avoid high-risk settings, wear surgical masks and avoid vulnerable people.

The cases appear to have triggered another wave of COVID-19 testing at Adelaide testing stations, with cars queuing outside the Victoria Park facility on Wednesday night.

So far, five locations have been officially linked to the two men’s movements, and SA Health earlier updated its list of exposure sites, which now included Business SA’s Unley offices, a wine bar and a seafood restaurant in Glenelg, and an Adelaide CBD cafe.

“While the cases are currently under investigation, we believe the virus was passed on from an interstate traveller at the event,” SA Health said.

South Australia also recorded a third case on Wednesday — a child who acquired her infection overseas and has been in quarantine since arrival.

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