Coronavirus

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:51): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister update the council on South Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Minister for Health and Wellbeing has the call.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for his question. The Marshall Liberal government has been working hard—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The minister has the call.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —throughout 2020 to protect South Australians from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key part of this work has been to secure a supply of personal protective equipment at a time of high international demand. Earlier in the pandemic, the Marshall Liberal government was able to work with local firm Detmold to establish domestic production of surgical masks right here in South Australia.

This capacity not only helped keep our frontline health professionals safe with high-quality PPE from a reliable source but it created around 150 jobs in a time of economic challenge. In this context, I pause to acknowledge the contribution of my then ministerial colleague, the Hon. David Ridgway, who was a key partner in making sure that Detmold was supported to engage this facility. SA Health has also helped accelerate the Detmold manufacturing facility, allowing for the production of over 20 million masks a month.

Since March 2020, 70 million surgical masks have been produced and supplied from the national manufacturing facility—70 million surgical masks. What a massive contribution to our pandemic response. Proving the willingness of South Australians to work collaboratively when faced with a crisis such as the recent pandemic, Detmold has been supported by both the Flinders University and the University of South Australia, utilising the $450,000 research and commercialisation and startup fund to establish a face mask testing facility.

Masks were previously sent overseas for testing, taking up to three weeks, but with the health crisis in other nations it is taking even longer. Having the capability to test here has sped up the process for Detmold to ensure that the products meet stringent standards and can be rolled out to where they are needed most. There is no more important or better time than a pandemic to make sure that products are developed and delivered on time.

With the latest acceleration of production, the number of jobs created has also doubled to 300. Detmold is not only supplying local needs for surgical face masks but is assisting the local economy by supplying other states and territories. The Marshall government has demonstrated its determination to act on our expert health advice in working to ensure the protection and safety of South Australians, and I thank the staff of SA Health, Detmold and all our other partners for their dedication and commitment in meeting this challenge.