Coronavirus

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:27): Supplementary arising from the—I guess it is an answer. Is the minister saying there are 60 ventilators currently in South Australia, or is he saying he is getting a further 60 ventilators in South Australia? If it is a further 60, when will they arrive and what will that bring the total number to?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:28): I appreciate that the honourable member is offering questions written by others, but let's be clear: an ICU bed has access to ventilators, and we have 60 ventilators for extra surge capacity. In other words, we do expect that we will be using ventilators in unorthodox locations. I have already told the house that. For example, it has been suggested that we might be using ventilators in recovery areas—areas that are normally used for surgery recovery. That is a sensible response to what is an unprecedented pandemic.