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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-11-17 Daily Xml
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Coronavirus, Hotel Quarantine

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:23): Supplementary: is there currently an investigation underway, as the health minister said, or will there be an investigation after this outbreak is dealt with, as you have told the house today?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:23): I think I have made this reasonably clear, but on every single infection that comes through we do a review of the likely source of that infection. That happens as an ordinary course: we try to work out the epidemiology of the infection. Of course, that is already happening. In addition to that, with regard to the broader question and the operation of hotel quarantine, I would expect that there will be a further broader investigation into what occurred at Peppers because we are really concerned that, if there is a surface transmission potential in South Australia, this would be, if you like, a first for our state that I'm aware of. I think it is of great concern, and it might mean that there need to be further changes. We have already enacted some changes with regard to our protocols within the quarantine hotels.

Previously, we were abiding by the AHPPC advice, which was for no mandatory testing but a mandatory declaration for all people that are working there that they don't have any symptoms. This was identified as best practice. In fact, some jurisdictions have had mandatory testing, and many workers have thought, 'Well, I might be developing symptoms, but I've got a test coming up on Saturday, so I just won't subject myself,' and in the meantime go and spread infection across their workplace or back out into the community.

So best practice was identified as a declaration on a daily basis that there are no symptoms, and if people did develop symptoms while they were at work they were immediately isolated. Their PCR test would be administered by SA Health and they would wait in isolation until they got that test result. That has served Australia extraordinarily well, and I think it is acknowledged as best practice. The difference with this case is that the three people who became infected at Peppers did not have symptoms, so they quite rightly signed a declaration saying, 'I don't have any symptoms and I can come to work.' It really wasn't until the mother of one of those infected went off to get herself tested that we could get on top of this and identify this as a cluster.

This is why Professor Nicola Spurrier said she would like to, for this very reason, have belt and braces. She would like to continue with the mandatory declaration on a daily basis and, in addition to that, have a mandatory test on a seven-day basis. You would note, sir, that in New Zealand they have a mandatory test on a 14-day basis, and South Australia now has a mandatory test on a seven-day basis, on a weekly basis. We're the only place in Australia which has this mandatory test. We can't be too careful, especially when we consider that it's very possible and plausible that the person in this case, which was the origin of this infection spread, achieved this infection from a surface.

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