Dear colleagues,

The Chief Health Officer has announced that as of 11.59pm tonight Adelaide will be a declared hotspot.

Additionally, anyone who has been in Adelaide since 9 November is required to isolate in their current accommodation until 14 days after they have left Adelaide. They should also get tested (even if they have no symptoms) as soon as practicable. You can leave your accommodation to get tested – please wear a mask and travel directly to and from the testing location.

Today we have ramped up onsite airport screening for incoming flights from Adelaide arriving before midnight. From midnight, anyone arriving from Adelaide will need to go into mandatory hotel quarantine at their own expense.

Fever clinics and emergency departments should be aware that you may see an increase in people who have recently returned from Adelaide presenting for testing even if they don’t have any symptoms. This testing is an important part of our strategy to identify and isolate COVID-19 to protect our community. Thank you to the staff that have responded immediately to ensure our capacity to test is ready to go for extended hours at such short notice.

If you are aware of staff who have recently returned from Adelaide (since 9 November), please make them aware of the requirements for home isolation and testing.

For those that need to isolate, here is some handy information for people isolating at home.

Regards,

Alanna Geary
Metro North Incident Controller

Current MN Response Tier Activated – Tier 0

Metro North HHS – overview of Cases*

*With effect 16 November 2020, 1000
**Metro North has three recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North.