I would like to thank all South Australians
for doing a fantastic job following health advice,
practicing good hygiene and social distancing.
As a result, we've seen the numbers of new cases
of COVID-19 decrease in South Australia.
Most of our cases are related to overseas
or interstate travel, and evidence suggests
that community transmission is relatively low
in our community at the moment.
In addition to all the things we've done as individuals
to stop the spread, we have also imposed restrictions
on our borders.
We've greatly expanded our contact tracing team here in
SA Health, and we have one of the highest rates
of testing of COVID-19 in the world.
I understand it is really hard
to make such dramatic changes to the way we live our lives,
and to keep these sustaining,
and we're all having to give up things we enjoy doing
in line with the restrictions and recommendations,
and we absolutely must continue to do these things
to protect ourselves, our families and our community.
This is to make sure the numbers
of COVID-19 positive cases stay low
while we finalise preparations to ensure our health system
is truly in the best possible place
in terms of numbers of ICU beds, protective masks
and other equipment for our staff, and also staff training.
At the moment, there are four main reasons
why you would need to leave your home.
One, shopping for essentials that you can't order online.
Two, accessing medical care
or providing assistance or care to a family member.
Three, exercising outside, and four,
traveling to or from work or education,
and if you do need to leave the house, keep
at least 1.5 metres away from other people.
While in South Australia, public and private gatherings
are currently restricted to 10 people
with our social distancing rules,
we also strongly recommend
that you minimise contact with people outside your family.
By doing so, we may be able to avoid the need
to impose even tighter restrictions
like they have done in other states.
You can certainly leave the house to exercise,
such as in a park or on a walking trail
but go by yourself or as your family group
and keep your distance from other people.
Entertaining friends at home and group fitness
and even things like taking kids to the playground
are things we should not be doing right now.
And going away for Easter and the school holidays
even though this is disappointing, should be avoided.
If you do this you're putting yourself at risk
and putting vulnerable regional communities at risk.
As I've mentioned before, eating hot cross buns
and Easter eggs do not increase the risk of COVID-19,
and even though churches have been closed to the public,
Easter is a special time of reflection for many people
and I trust that this Easter brings comfort
and a sense of hope for many of us.
Older people and those with medical conditions
such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease
or people with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable.
These people should be staying at home as much as possible.
If you have these people in your family or community,
please try and help them out with such things
as dropping off groceries or collecting their medications
for them, so they don't have to leave the house.
And as always, we must be practicing excellent hygiene.
Thoroughly wash your hands with soap
and water frequently throughout the day.
Cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue
and make sure you wash your hands afterwards
and very importantly, do not go out if you are sick.
Finally, a reminder to people who are returning home
from overseas or travelling from interstate,
people who have been in contact with a confirmed case
of COVID-19, or people who are waiting
for a COVID-19 test result,
you absolutely must remain in quarantine as directed.
This is enforceable in South Australia
and you must do this to protect others.
If we do all of these things,
we can continue to keep ahead of the curve
and avoid the tighter restrictions
that have been needed in other states.
But I do understand that there's a lot of information
about coronavirus, and it's sometimes overwhelming
and confusing.
Please seek information from trusted sources
such as SA Health's website and social media.
Also, please try and look after yourself and each other.
Keep connected with your support networks
using digital communications or by phone,
and simply be kind to each other and be patient.
We're all in this together
and as a South Australian community
this is the way we're going to be able to overcome COVID-19.