A teenager who allegedly knew he had Covid-19 but kept partying was reportedly kissing women and sharing cigarettes while out at a popular nightclub.
The 19-year-old spent the night at the Loverboy club in Adelaide’s city centre despite having already been notified he had tested positive to Covid-19.
He is understood to have received a text message from SA Health at 10.18pm – but allegedly ignored the warning and entered the club at 10.45pm last Friday.
The venue has since been declared a close contact exposure site, forcing 150 club-goers and staff into isolation for a week just days away from Christmas.
Witnesses say they saw the former private school boy hugging other revellers, kissing at least two women and leaving with a woman in the early hours of Saturday morning, The Advertiser reported.
The boy is now quarantining in a medi-hotel but claimed he didn’t see the message informing him of his positive result.
The teenager, 19, spent the night at the popular nightclub Loverboy in Adelaide’s city centre (pictured) despite receiving notification he had tested positive to Covid-19
Anyone at the club between 10.45pm on Friday and 4.15am on Saturday has been dubbed a close contact by health officials.
Vaccinated attendees will be asked to quarantine for seven days and the unvaccinated must be in isolation for 14 days.
His actions sparked understandable anger, but the teenager has asked his critics to move on.
‘I reckon we just drop it. I’ve admitted to my mistakes and am truly apologetic,’ the young man wrote to social media.
South Australia is reporting record numbers of locally acquired infections as the Omicron variant threatens the festive period.
Loverboy described the infected-patron as ‘selfish’ in a statement and warned the venue planned to take legal action.
‘Christmas is supposed to be a time to celebrate with family and loved ones, however, because of the actions of one selfish person, that won’t be the case for many,’ the statement read.
‘We have to close our doors for the busiest week of the year and will be opening presents in isolation. We will be seeking justice.’
SA Police will investigate if the teenager has breached the state’s Emergency Management Act, which could mean the issuing of a $1,092 fine.
Rumours of a Covid-positive patron in the Hindley Street nightlife area spread on Friday, prompting many nightspots to close early, and remain shut in the lead-up to Christmas so the festive period is not ruined for staff and patrons.
It is understood the teen received the text message from SA Health at 10.18pm but allegedly ignored the warning and entered the popular venue (pictured) at 10:45pm last Friday
Premier Steven Marshall said the teenager’s actions were ‘regrettable’.
‘I think there’s been pretty strong public outrage,’ he said.
‘I think it just serves as a lesson to everybody that we’ve done well as a state but it does rely on everybody doing the right thing.’
The premier on Friday announced restrictions would ease when 90 per cent of the eligible population were vaccinated, earmarked for December 28.
Once the vaccine benchmark is reached, density restrictions will be axed and capacity for indoor venues as well as gyms and nightclubs will be expanded.
Across Australia, thousands of families eager to celebrate the festive season will be spending Christmas in isolation as the Omicron variant continues to spread.
The revelation comes as worrying new international data finds Omicron is ‘no milder’ than the Delta variant – but five times more likely to re-infect.
Although 90 per cent of the Australian population over 16 are fully-vaccinated, the new variant is managing to spread in record numbers with the figure at 4,000 cases a day nationally and soaring.
Adding to the Christmas holiday panic is the immense strain on testing clinics as Australians desperate to travel interstate flock for swabs.
Most interstate travel requires a negative test before departure but with results taking two to three days, the wait is sending travel plans into turmoil.
Queensland and Tasmania have both reintroduced mask mandates in indoor settings, amid rising case numbers as holiday visitors start to flood interstate.
The Sunshine State recorded 42 new cases on Sunday, while South Australia saw 80 infections and Victoria saw a slight drop to 1,240.
Prior to the outbreak South Australia had recorded less than a thousand cases throughout the entire pandemic, and now has a total of 1,216.
NSW Health has revealed it is now longer testing Covid patients for the Omicron variant unless ‘clinically relevant’ – leaving officials with no idea how many cases of the strain are now in the state.
Up to 150 patrons from the Adelaide venue have now been forced into isolation just days before Christmas
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