South Australia records one new case of coronavirus on the first day of the country's harshest-ever lockdown as tens of thousands wait up to 12 hours in huge queues for tests
- South Australia records one new case of coronavirus, taking the outbreak to six
- Woman aged in her 20s infected while working at Greek on Halifax restaurant
- Outbreak has sparked massive queues and chaos at testing clinics in Adelaide
- Some waiting up to 12 hours for test as state plunged into week-long lockdown
- Premier vowed to pull 'every single lever possible' to step up site capacity
South Australians have woken up to their first full day of a week-long lockdown after the entire state was plunged into Australia's most severe restrictions ever.
The state recorded a new case of coronavirus on Wednesday morning, taking the cluster to six as the growing list of exposure sites surged to 52.
Health officials said the woman aged in her 20s tested positive late on Tuesday night and is a close contact of an infectious case who dined at the Greek on Halifax restaurant in Adelaide on the weekend.
The woman contracted the virus while working at the restaurant on Saturday night and came forward to testing after she heard on the news that health officials were concerned about the restaurant.
The infected case is also a boarding staff member at Westminster School at Marion, which is now listed as a high risk exposure site with most school staff ordered to self-isolate for 14 days.
Students aren't affected as they had not returned from school holidays when the woman worked at the school on Monday while infectious.
More than 6000 South Australians linked to exposure sites are now in isolation.
The outbreak has sparked chaos at testing clinics across Adelaide with long queues of motorists stretching for kilometres.
Premier Steven Marshall is hopeful the outbreak will be nipped in the bud and that lockdown won't be extended beyond the seven days.
South Australia's outbreak has grown to six. The latest case contracted the virus while working at the Greek on Halifax restaurant (pictured) in Adelaide on the weekend
South Australians have woken up to the first morning in lockdown. Pictured is a deserted Adelaide on Wednesday
'Thank you to the millions of people who are being checking in with QR codes, doing the right thing, abiding by these restrictions, knowing that we have got one shot to nip this in the bud,' Premier Marshall told reporters on Wednesday.
'One shot to stop the coronavirus cluster here in South Australia dead in its tracks. We are all 100 per cent united in this quest and the early signs of compliance are extraordinary lead good.'
'We don't want to have these restrictions in place, we don't want to have them in place one day longer than we need to.
But the best advice, the expert advice is that we need to take this action now.
The state's chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said Tuesday's testing numbers were still be finalised.
Many South Australians who had joined testing queues Tuesday night were still waiting to be swabbed almost 12 hours later.
Mr Marshall thanked everyone for their patience and vowed to do pull 'every single lever possible' to increase capacity at testing sites.
Testing clinics were swamped on Wednesday morning with long queues stretching for kilometres
He added there were 86 testing clinics across the state.
'We don't want anybody turning away in frustration,' Mr Marshall said.
'We don't want people frustrated and angry with delays. We want people to go to the closest one and have a smooth process.'
SA health is also working on publishing live wait times for testing clinics.
The SA Government will roll out a $100m support package for people impacted by the lockdown.
Payments of up to $600 a week will be available for those who are losing work.
Around 52 venues across Adelaide haven been listed as exposure sites, which is expected to rise in the coming days.
South Australians who lose work during lockdown will be eligible for financial support. Pictured is a couple with their dog in Adelaide's Victoria Park on Wednesday
South Australia has been plunged into a seven day lockdown. Pictured are health workers at a testing clinic in Elizabeth Park, Adelaide
They include major shopping centres and at least two schools along with banks, hardware stores, cafes, and chemists.
South Australians only have five lawful reasons to leave home, for essential supplies, to exercise, for medical care, for care or compassionate reasons or essential work.
Construction sites across the state will shut down for seven days and schools will transition to online learning from Thursday.
Masks must be used in all indoor public areas, including shopping centres and also on public transport and other high-risk settings.
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South Australians have answered the call from health officials to get tested. Pictured is a queue at an Adelaide clinic on Tuesday
Fitness centres are closed along with other non-essential retail.
This is South Australia's third lockdown since the pandemic began in early 2020.
The new cluster began with an 81-year-old man, who entered the country from Argentina. His daughter and another two men then caught the virus.
He returned to Australia via NSW, where he spent 14 days in quarantine.
He arrived in South Australia on July 8 and presented to a suburban hospital over the weekend after developing symptoms.
All the confirmed cases are known to the man or his extended family.
Thousands of South Australians spent Tuesday night queuing at 24 hour testing clinics
Genomic testing has confirmed the man became infected while in Sydney, not in Argentina.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens commended South Australians on complying with lockdown rules.
'Every indicator we've seen so far is that people are doing the right thing,' he said.
'Streets are empty, the city is empty.
'I'm as hopeful as anyone else that we can keep this lockdown to seven days, but there's a lot of work to be done.'
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