North Australia exits lockdown early after man linked to outbreak lied to officials

The state of South Australia is set to end its strict “circuit-breaker” lockdown three days early today, after recording only one new infection.

The #lockdown, which impacted the state’s nearly two million population, was imposed after a man who tested positive for coronavirus gave contact tracers false information and raised fears about the possibility of mass infections.

Contact tracers believed that the man had contracted the virus from a pizza box he bought which had been touched by an infected employee, raising concerns about the possibility of a super strain. However, officials discovered that he had lied and had in fact been working at the restaurant and had been in close contact with another positive case.

The new case detected today brought Quarantine for contacts of #Covid-19 cases will be halved or eliminated altogether in a pilot scheme that could ultimately free hundreds of thousands of people from needless isolation.

Emergency service workers will be given daily tests with new pregnancy-style kits in the next stage of mass testing in Liverpool due to begin next week. They will be allowed to carry on working if they test negative.

Everyone in the city told to isolate because they have come close to an infected person could also be offered a test after seven days of quarantine, to allow them to leave home faster.

This morning Boris Johnson posted a video online acknowledging people’s frustration with quarantine. The prime minister, who has been self-isolating for six days after he