Steve Price: More states close to South Australia as outbreak explodes

Published: Nov. 17, 2020, 10:37 p.m.

Just days after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced plans to reopen Australia's internal borders by Christmas, an exploding coronavirus cluster has plunged those plans in limbo.
Going from bad to worse, South Australia's cluster ballooned from three cases of Covid-19 yesterday to 17 cases by Monday morning.
The outbreak triggered warnings and closures across Adelaide, and is now sparking panic interstate.
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan on Monday afternoon reintroduced a hard border closure for the neighbouring state, starting from 6pm except for "strict exemption" categories.
Queensland has announced they too will be closing off the border to parts of South Australia from midnight tonight.
South Australia Premier Steven Marshall on Monday afternoon said the state is facing its "biggest test to date" and the border arrangements for other jurisdictions are their decisions to make.
"We can and we must rise to this new challenge," he said.
"I want to assure all South Australians that we are working around the clock to stay ahead of this cluster. No effort will be spared to slow and stop the spread of the Parafield cluster.
"I said from day one that we will not hesitate to act on the expert help advice because keeping the people of South Australia safe and strong is our unequivocal priority.
"Time is now of the essence and we must act swiftly and decisively. We can't wait to see how bad this gets."
Marshall said the state has been the "recipient" of data from other health administrations around the country and is now "transmitting it".
He announced all inbound international flights to Adelaide have been suspended, at the state government's request, for the rest of the week.
"Our priority is ensuring we have enough capacity in medi-hotels to meet quarantine requirements," Marshall said.
The Premier introduced a raft of new restrictions for the next two weeks and also advised "against any unnecessary travel at the moment".
"We're not giving a direction that you can't go on any travel," he said, noting that if it is "spontaneous and can be avoid", the Government is saying to people "don't proceed with it".
Marshall said as of 2pm Australian Central Daylight Time, there remained 17 cases in the cluster and all are "stable".
South Australia's chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said after initial review, the origin of the cluster is "clearly from a medi-hotel" and they are awaiting genomic testing results from two security guards at the medi-hotel and one person working in "back of house".
Meanwhile, Morrison said he spoke to Marshall "first thing" on Monday morning and the state's contact tracing and testing will "now be put to the test"
He said there had been a " spectrum of responses" from other states and territories but he understood those in Tasmania and the Northern Territory would be "temporary responses".
"What's important is these don't get sort of locked in as part of another enduring disruption and as soon as South Australia is able to get on top of this I would be expecting states would keep on the path that we have set towards Christmas," Morrison told reporters in Melbourne.
Asked whether the outbreak "jeopardises" his chance of having borders opened by Christmas,Morrison replied: "Well, I hope not."
"We have all said that these are subject to the health conditions and what occurs, but I would hope not," he said.
"So far, it is an early good response, but we are certainly not going to get ahead of ourselves as to how we anticipate this will play out in the days ahead."
Speaking to media on Monday, Queensland's chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said the revised border closure would impact residents from Adelaide only, and not those coming in to the Sunshine state from regional South Australia.
"I have been recommended that all of Adelaide … and the local government areas be made a hotspot, and as of 11.59pm tonight, anyone who comes into Queensland who has been in that part of So...