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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-03-24 Daily Xml
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Coronavirus

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister confirm that as of this time there is no known community transmission of COVID-19 in South Australia? Can he advise how long it takes for a COVID-19 test to be returned and how many people have been turned away from testing centres?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:39): I would refer here to national data. National data categorises source of infection by four classifications. Firstly, overseas acquired; secondly, locally acquired, contact of a confirmed case; thirdly, locally acquired, no known link; and four, under investigation. The third category 'locally acquired, no known link' is what is generally referred to as community transmission. There is no confirmed case of locally acquired with no known link. The honourable member was giving me a daisy chain of questions. Could I have number two?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: How long does it take for a COVID-19 test to be returned, and how many people have been turned away from testing centres?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: My understanding, as of this morning, is that the average wait was 21 hours, which, on my understanding, was down by nine hours relatively recently. One of the reasons why we have been able to reduce the turnaround time is that we are opening a series of clinics. I was delighted to be at the Hampstead centre this morning with the Premier for the opening of yet another drive-through clinic.

This is the second drive-through clinic to be established by the Marshall Liberal government. We were the second nation in the world to establish a drive-through clinic, the first being South Korea and they only beat us by a couple of days. I think that shows the innovation and the determination to deliver top quality care in the most efficient and safest way possible that we see in SA Health.

I would like to pay tribute yet again to SA Pathology and SA Health, as the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council and the Premier have done today. SA Health is demonstrating all of the skill and expertise that they have developed over the years and has demonstrated the depth of their commitment to deliver top quality care to South Australians.

The third question was how many people have been turned away. This is an interesting question because the opposition has suggested that people being turned away is somehow refusing to face the disease. The fact of the matter is that it is not a good use of testing resources to test people who don't meet criteria for testing. In a global pandemic, we need to make sure that we target our testing so that we can support our response.

What South Australia is doing in the containment phase, and consistent with all the public health advice, is targeting our testing on people who have symptoms and who have had either a travel history or contact with a confirmed case.

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