South Australia lockdown to end early, after man lied about how he contracted virus
A strict 6-day lockdown for South Australia will end early, as officials reveal an infected pizza parlour worker lied about how he contracted the virus. South Australia Premier, Steven Marshall, says a chef employed at a pizza business that was found to have a cluster of infections, misled officials.
The worker told contact-tracers that he was a customer of the pizza parlour’s, leading them to conclude the virus had spread beyond the workplace and could possibly be transmitted through pizza takeaway boxes.
“One of the close contacts linked to the Woodville pizza bar deliberately misled our contact-tracing team. Their story didn’t add up. We pursued them. We now know that they lied.”
Despite the hiccup, officials say all customers of the pizza parlour should still come forward to be tested and argue that the circuit breaker introduced on Wednesday was necessary. The lockdown, originally planned for 6 days, closed all schools, bars, shops, factories and restaurants, with residents ordered to stay at home. Dog walking, exercise, and running basic errands were all banned.
The announcement led to traffic chaos, as residents raced to leave the state and get to New South Wales or Victoria before the lockdown took hold. Thousands of subsequent Covid tests showed there was no community transmission and infections were a cluster of 25. As the information came to light, the government was accused of overreacting.
Effective immediately, people can once again leave home to exercise, with other restrictions being lifted from midnight on Saturday.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
