Woodville High School closes after student tests positive

All students who attended Woodville High School on Monday, November 23 have been told to isolate immediately with all members of their household until further notice.

Further advice will be provided to all staff, students and their families and caregivers as soon as possible.

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The closure of the St Clair school will allow for contact tracing and risk assessment.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms should get testing as soon as possible.

The new case sparks fresh fears South Australia does not have its second wave under control, as was first believed.

SA Health’s Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Michael Cusack said on Thursday morning anyone in the Woodville area who developed symptoms should immediately get tested and remain isolated, and admitted the case has not yet been linked.

He said it was unknown if the student caught public transport to and from school — as of Thursday morning — but contact tracers were yet to determine if that was the case.

“We got the information late yesterday and moved swiftly to issue an alert and that’s ensured we limit the risk to the school community and wider public,” Dr Cusack told ABC Radio.

“Our contact tracers have been working, in terms of interviews, overnight and into the morning and we do believe it is linked to the Parafield cluster and does not represent transmission within the community but were still working on the exact link.”

He said health authorities believe the student was “likely to be infectious” when she attended school on Monday and said contact tracers will know more as they continue interviews.

“When you act on early information, there is a need to go wide but that information will improve and we can be much more precise and targeted and that’s what we expect will happen over the course of the day.”

The alert comes as other students and their families remain in quarantine after attending one of the following schools:

• Thomas More College, Salisbury Downs on November 12 and 13
• Roma Mitchell Secondary College, Gepps Cross on November 12 and 13
• Mawson Lakes School and Preschool on November 13

The Woodville Pizza Bar also remains a hotspot and an alert is still in place for anyone who visited the Woodville Rd businesses — including those who got takeaway or delivery — between November 6 and 16.

Those who also attended the following locations must also quarantine for 14 days:

• Lyell McEwin Hospital Emergency Department from 5.30pm on November 13 to 8.00am November 14

• SA Structural in Edinburgh on November 12 from 7:00am to 3.30pm

• The Aquadome in Elizabeth on November 14 from 11.00am to 1.30pm

People who visited these locations must get tested on day one and day 12 of quarantine.

There is also a large number of locations listed on SA Health’s website where people who attended have been asked to monitor for symptoms.

Click here to see the list.

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