South Australia, a state of 1.7 million people, witnessed an increase in the volume of new COVID-19 cases. This came as a surprise because, since April, the state had not experienced such a spike in the infection rates of the pandemic. And that was what led South Australia into a six-day lockdown which began on Wednesday.
It became established by contact tracers, that the Woodville Pizza Bar in Adelaide, South Australia, was the central point of the pandemic. They came to this conclusion after they spoke to a COVID-19 patient who was the major distributor of the virus in that area. He claimed to have visited the pizzeria in order to pick a takeaway.
However, after additional investigations, Grant Stevens, the local police commissioner said on Friday, that the COVID-19 patient was actually an employee at the pizzeria. Premier of South Australia, Steve Marshall, had said that the employee’s carelessness was to be blamed.
“SA health contact tracers found that one of the close contacts linked to the Woodville Pizza Bar deliberately misled the contact tracing team,” Marshall stated. We now know that he lied. To say that I am fuming about the actions of this individual is an absolute understatement. The selfish actions of this individual have put our whole state in a very difficult situation. His action has affected businesses, individuals, family groups, and is completely and utterly unacceptable.”
Due to the unfortunate situation, the lockdown was lifted on Saturday at midnight. When the local authorities addressed the incident, they excused their earlier decision to close businesses as a quick decision which had to be taken because time was of the essence.
According to the local authorities, the lying employee would not be made to pay a fine or face charges, but his contacts will continue to be investigated. During the six days lockdown, South Australia became popular for their strict rules, which prohibited pet-owners from taking their pets outside for a stroll.
Source: cnn.com