One of South Australia’s latest confirmed cases of COVID-19 has been linked to the Woodville Pizza Bar, the site of a contact-tracing error which last week led to a temporary state-wide shutdown.
Fronting the media in Adelaide this afternoon, Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said the positive case, a female Woodville High School student who tested positive on Wednesday, is believed to have visited the pizza bar earlier this month.
“It looks as though she has had an exposure at the Woodville Pizza Bar, having picked up a pizza on the 14th of November,” Dr Spurrier said.
She confirmed this visit took place when the pizza bar was considered to be an infectious hotspot, as “there were people that were there that were infected.”
When pressed on whether the student should have been under isolation instead of attending school, given prior public health guidelines regarding visitors to the pizza bar, Dr Spurrier said “I am strongly of the belief that there was nothing that was done that was wrong.”
“The important thing is if you did get a pizza from that pizza bar and you haven’t been tested, now is the time to do so,” she added.
ABC reports anyone who attended Woodville High School on Monday this week, and everyone in their households, has been urged to self-isolate pending further updates.
The high school has been closed for deep cleaning.
Earlier today, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Mike Cusack also said anyone who develops COVID-19 symptoms in the Woodville area should self-isolate and seek COVID-19 testing as soon as possible.
The Woodville High School student case has been linked to the Parafield cluster, which SA Health believes emerged from the Peppers medi-hotel in Adelaide’s CBD and spread to the broader community.
An infected Peppers security guard worked at the Woodville Pizza Bar alongside a man who also worked security at the Stamford medi-hotel.
SA Police state that second man lied to contact tracers about his employment at the pizza bar, initially telling contact tracers he had only visited the premises to pick up a pizza.
Fears of unchecked and widespread community transmission led SA Health and Premier Steven Marshall to enact a six-day “circuit breaker” lockdown. Those measures were lifted early when it was revealed the pizza bar worker initially misled contact tracers.
SA Police have launched an investigation into those circumstances.
South Australia also listed a seperate new coronavirus case today, a man in his 40s who was already quarantining in relation to the Parafield cluster.
Both recent confirmations bring South Australia’s number of active cases to 34.
