Two possible COVID-19 exposure sites identified at Tailem Bend

SA Health has issued alerts about the Coles Express shop and Caltex service station for Monday and Tuesday.

Two possible COVID-19 exposure sites identified at Tailem Bend
Nicola Spurrier and an Auslan interpreter announce the identification of several possible COVID-19 exposure sites on Wednesday. Image: SA Health/Facebook.

This post is no longer being updated. For ongoing updates during the week of September 3-9, click here. For a list of all current exposure sites, visit www.sahealth.sa.gov.au.

Two possible COVID-19 exposure sites have been identified at Tailem Bend.

A number of people have been told to take COVID tests and go into quarantine after two truck drivers who visited the town on Monday and Tuesday later returned positive tests.

SA Health spent Wednesday afternoon and evening reaching out to anyone who may have visited the town’s Coles Express shop, which adjoins the Shell service station, between 6.15am and 7am on Monday, August 30; or 12.15am and 1am on Tuesday, August 31.

An alert was already in place for the nearby Tasco Caltex, which was visited by a COVID-positive truck driver between 1.30 and 2.45pm on Tuesday.

Anyone present at either site during the specified period, plus anyone who lives in the same household as them, should seek a COVID test at the earliest opportunity and quarantine at home for the next 14 days.

Each household member will need to get tested again on days five and 13.

  • Get a COVID test: Visit the testing clinic next door to the Caltex roadhouse at 8786 Princes Highway, Tailem Bend at any time; or book an appointment at the Murray Bridge Respiratory Clinic via www.hotdoc.com.au.
  • More information about exposure sites: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au.
  • More information about symptoms: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au.

Thursday 12am: Second possible COVID-19 exposure site identified

SA Health issued an alert about the Coles Express exposure site shortly before midnight on Wednesday.

Earlier, chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier had said she had learned around lunch time that a truck driver who had visited the Coles Express had tested positive.

SA Health staff spent Wednesday afternoon confirming his movements, then began text messaging anyone who used the COVID Safe QR check-in system at the shop.

“We are under extreme time pressure here to protect the South Australian community,” Professor Spurrier said.

“It is just so important that if you receive an SMS as part of these investigations, that you follow the instructions.

“I would really like all South Australians to have a look at our website, talk to your family and friends about whether they may have been at any of these sites, and make sure that they’re following those instructions.”

People who visited the Coles Express shop at Tailem Bend on Monday or Tuesday may have been exposed to COVID-19, SA Health says. Photo: Google Maps.

Wednesday 5pm: Tailem Bend service station listed as COVID-19 exposure site

SA Health has listed a service station at Tailem Bend as a possible COVID-19 exposure site.

A truck driver who visited the Tasco Caltex service station yesterday afternoon later returned a positive COVID test on his return to Victoria.

Anyone who visited the service station between 1.30pm and 2.45pm yesterday, August 31, must immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days.

All members of their household must do the same.

They will have to be tested again on days five and 13.

SA Health staff have spent Wednesday afternoon text messaging instructions to anyone who used the COVID Safe QR code system at the service station during that period.

They have also been checking CCTV footage taken during the afternoon.

The truck driver is believed to have worn a mask during his visit to the Caltex, as required by health regulations.

The Tasco Caltex service station at Tailem Bend has been listed as a possible COVID-19 exposure site. Photo: Tasco Caltex Tailem Bend Roadhouse/Facebook.

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said five COVID-positive truck drivers had now entered South Australia in the past six days.

“The outbreak in Victoria and New South Wales is a real risk to us here in South Australia,” she said.

“If anybody has any symptoms whatsoever of COVID-19, you must go and get tested.”

She also encouraged people to get vaccinated as soon as they were able, whether with the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, the latter of which had only a “minuscule” risk of side-effects.

This is the second time Tailem Bend’s status as a popular highway rest stop has led SA Health to warn about possible exposure to COVID-19 in the town.

Hundreds of people, including many locals, were forced into quarantine in July after COVID-positive members of a removalist crew visited the Shell and OTR service stations, but no locals were infected.


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