A public health officer told footy fans to ‘duck’ if the ball comes near them, in what may be the most bizarre health advice since the Covid pandemic hit Australia.
South Australia chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier gave the strange medical advice to minimise coronavirus transmission on Wednesday.
She was defending letting Collingwood Magpies travel from Melbourne to take on Adelaide this weekend at the Adelaide Oval.
Professor Spurrier tried to ease the fears of fan wary of Victorians entering their state in the midst of an outbreak of 60 cases – prompting the Victorian government to extend the state’s lockdown restrictions.
‘Not that I’ve been to many football games, but I have noticed occasionally it does get kicked into the crowd,’ she said.
‘If the ball comes towards you, my advice is to duck and do not touch that ball.’
South Australia chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier told AFL fans to ‘duck’ if the ball comes near them. Pictured: A Collingwood fan
Collingwood AFL team travel from Melbourne to take on Adelaide this weekend. Pictured: Pictured: Adelaide Crow’s fans
SA’s border is currently closed to Victorian travellers but the Pies were granted a special exemption for their Adelaide Oval showdown with the Crows.
Perhaps feeling guilty that Victoria’s current outbreak was triggered by a SA hotel quarantine breach last month, Prof Spurrier gave the go-ahead on the grounds it is a ‘special situation’.
Under the strict protocols, a ‘pared back’ contingent of 35 Collingwood players, coaches and officials will be permitted to cross the border but will not be able to interact with anyone outside their bubble apart from opposition players.
‘The requirement on Collingwood is now to go into quarantine in Victoria – if they are with their family, their family needs to quarantine too,’ Prof Spurrier said.
‘Individually each player must sign a declaration they have not been at any of (the Victorian) exposure sites and … sign one once they are in SA too.’
Perhaps feeling guilty that Victoria’s current outbreak was triggered by a SA hotel quarantine breach last month, Ms Spurrier gave the go-ahead on the grounds it is a ‘special situation’. Pictured: Adelaide Oval
SA’s border is currently closed to Victorian travellers but the Pies were granted a special exemption for their Adelaide Oval showdown with the Crows. Pictured: Adelaide Crow’s fans
Under the strict protocols, a ‘pared back’ contingent of 35 Collingwood players, coaches and officials will be permitted to cross the border but will not be able to interact with anyone outside their bubble apart from opposition players. Pictured: A Collingwood fan
‘They have to be tested within 24 hours of coming to SA, and will be swabbed at the airport and not be able to play until we have all their results in and they’re negative.’
All players and staff, including the Crows, will then be tested again 48 hours later and will have to isolate until ‘every test is back and they are all negative’.
‘This group of players have very tough conditions on them – they will be here, they will play the match, they will be leaving,’ Prof Spurrier said.
‘We could not get the team here to quarantine, this is the other way of doing it.’
The match is set to begin at 4:35pm on Saturday, with a capacity crowd of about 40,000 fans expected to be cheering on the Crows.
Testing numbers continue to be high, with 51,033 in the last 24 hours as Victoria battles to contain the outbreak (pictured, a Melburnian on a quiet Swanston Street on Wednesday)
The cluster, which has been linked to a highly infectious double mutant Indian strain, grew to 60 cases on Wednesday (pictured, a couple in an eerily quiet Melbourne on Tuesday)
Victoria’s gruelling lockdown was extended for a further seven days, as state officials warn the coronavirus outbreak ‘will explode’ if restrictions were to ease in Melbourne.
There were six new cases being reported on Wednesday, bringing the cluster associated with the Indian double mutant strain, to 60.
But there is some relief for regional Victorians who from Friday will enjoy an easing of restrictions with shops opened back up and limits relaxed, with the majority of cases centered in the capital.
Restaurants and cafes outside Melbourne have even been ordered to check customers’ IDs when they reopen to ensure no one from the city sneaks out into regional towns, and a uniform QR code system has also finally been put in place.
Despite the dreaded lockdown extension, the travel limit for Melbournians for exercise and shopping will extend from 5km to 10km, but compulsory wearing of masks both indoors and outdoors will remain in place.
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino hinted some of the restrictions could even stay in place beyond the next week.
The spread of the Indian variant has prompted authorities to encourage visitors to 14 shopping hubs across Melbourne over the past two weeks to come forward for testing
The lockdown had been due to expire on Thursday at midnight, but will now last another week as the cluster – associated with the Indian double mutant strain – swelled to 60
‘At the end of another seven days, we do expect to be in a position to carefully ease restrictions in Melbourne,’ he said.
‘But there will continue to be differences between the settings in Melbourne compared to regional Victoria.
‘if we let this thing run its course, it will explode. We’ve got to run this to ground because if we don’t, people will die.
‘And if that happens, it’s our most vulnerable – it’s our parents, it’s our grandparents, it’s Victorians with underlying conditions or compromised immunity, it is those Victorians who will pay the price.’
Until at least June 10, Melbourne residents will continue to have only five reasons to leave home: to shop for food and essential items, to provide or receive care, for exercise, work or study, or to get vaccinated.