How Aussie miner and his family of five – who ALL have Covid-19 including their baby girl – helped prevent a major outbreak of the virus and harsh lockdown
- Adam Ryan tested positive to Covid-19 after working with infected miner in NT
- He and his family including four children all isolated as a precaution on his return
- Flew from NT into Adelaide last Friday with whole family since testing positive
- The family have said they’ve been overwhelmed with the support given to them
A family-of-six has been applauded for potentially saving South Australia from a major Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown after isolating on their own accord before they tested positive to the highly-contagious Delta variant.
Kristen and Adam Ryan, along with their four children including a baby girl are quarantining together in an Adelaide medi-hotel after they were struck down with the virus in the past week.
Mr Ryan flew back to Adelaide from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory last Friday and started isolating ‘as a precaution’ after learning one of his mining colleagues had tested positive.
Three of the couple’s children aged under 10 then caught the virus before it emerged on Friday that their baby had also tested positive.
Kristen and Adam Ryan, along with their four children – all under the age of 10 including a baby girl – are all quarantining together after being struck down with the virus within the past week
Mr Ryan had a brief stop at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Friday as he suffers some of the virus’ more severe symptoms
The family said they had been overwhelmed with the support they’d received from other South Australians while undergoing quarantine at the Tom’s Court medi-hotel.
‘All the love has been a major uplift for us all,’ Mrs Ryan told Nine News.
‘All we did was isolate for a few days as a precaution, and so many would have done the same already.’
Mr Ryan had a brief stay at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Friday as he suffered some severe symptoms, with authorities saying he was ‘very unwell’.
Mrs Ryan has been providing regular updates to loved ones via social media, saying her husband was doing well and the staff were being ‘supportive and cautious’.
The Red Cross has donated toys to keep the kids entertained during their two-week quarantine stint while the family’s pregnant dog is also being cared for.
The family have so far saved South Australia from a Covid-19 outbreak after isolating on their own accord
Government officials applauded the family’s decision to isolate, with Chief Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier singing their praise.
‘This family has done absolutely the right thing,’ she said.
‘This is a perfect example of quarantining as you need to and it’s really helped us in South Australia.’
Premier Steven Marshall also thanked the family for their actions after the only new local case in the state was the Ryan’s baby daughter.
‘The actions they have taken have been exactly what has kept out state safe during this very difficult time of the Delta variant,’ he said.
The Ryan family’s response has meant the state has managed to avoid a lockdown but some restrictions have still been enforced
Mr Ryan had flown back to Adelaide from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory last Friday and started isolating ‘as a precaution’ after learning one of his mining colleagues had tested positive
Those measures include a reduced density requirement for most venues, mandatory mask-wearing in high-risk settings and a limit of 10 people at family gatherings.
The Premier said those measures are likely to stay in place until at least early next week.
Health authorities have so far contacted 344 close contacts and 144 secondary contacts of the miner who have been put into isolation.
Mr Ryan’s positive result prompted Alice Springs to go into a three-day lockdown this week in a bid to stop any potential spread of the virus.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall credited the family for keeping the state safe with their decision to isolate