The lie from a pizza shop worker that led to South Australia’s coronavirus lockdown

After months of no COVID-19 cases outside of hotel quarantine, South Australians learned of some worrying developments on Sunday.

A woman in her 80s tested positive to the virus at the Lyell McEwin Hospital emergency department in Adelaide.

It soon became apparent the woman had caught the virus from her daughter, a cleaner at the Peppers medi-hotel in the Adelaide CBD, one of several sites across the city where international travellers undergo isolation.

By Monday, most of the woman’s extended family were considered to be COVID cases, and contact tracing was underway at dozens of sites across the city.

By Tuesday, the cluster had expanded to include two security guards who had worked at the Peppers hotel.