Teen in Adelaide tests positive after alert issued for six Virgin flights

A teenage boy in quarantine has tested positive to Covid-19 in Adelaide after travelling on a Virgin Australia flight listed as an exposure site.

Health authorities said the teen was on board flight VA219 from Melbourne to Adelaide on October 4, which an infected cabin crew member worked on.

“Flight VA219 will now be treated as a transmission site and SA Health are ensuring that quarantine arrangements for all passengers reflect this higher level of concern,” SA Health said on Sunday.

The teen was already in a medi-hotel in Adelaide, while other passengers who arrived on flights from Melbourne into Sydney, Newcastle and Adelaide were sent into self-isolation for two weeks after Virgin’s staff testing protocols identified the infected crew member.

Victorian Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson said the Virgin employee had worked from October 4-6.

The flights of concern were:

• October 4: VA219 from Melbourne to Adelaide 10:11am to 11-09am
• October 4: VA218 from Adelaide to Melbourne 11:38am to 1:19pm
• October 5: VA827 from Melbourne to Sydney 09:09am to 10:32am
• October 5: VA808 from Sydney to Melbourne 11:16am to 12:53pm
• October 6: VA1593 from Melbourne to Newcastle 12:56pm to 2:19pm
• October 6: VA1594 Newcastle to Melbourne 3:02pm to 4:38pm

“Fellow crew members on those flights have been deemed close contacts and most do live in Melbourne and will be contacted by the department,” Ms Matson told reporters at Victoria’s Saturday Covid-19 media briefing.

“Passengers on those flights are being contacted by the relevant jurisdictions and we have been in close contact with both NSW and South Australia and working closely with them to contact the relevant passengers.”

NSW Health announced on Saturday afternoon it was aware of the flights and had ordered passengers into self-isolation.

All people on board those flights are considered close contacts and must isolate for 14 days, regardless of test results, from the date of their arrival in NSW.