Brand new Adelaide hotel Tom's Court has been selected as South Australia's dedicated COVID-19 facility to start from February, the Marshall Liberal Government has announced.
Acting Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Rob Lucas, said all new positive COVID-19 cases will be transferred to the facility when it becomes operational.
"From the onset of COVID-19, the Marshall Liberal Government has been focused on keeping the South Australian community safe and our economy strong," Minister Lucas said.
"Following a comprehensive selection process, involving the state's preeminent public health officials and SAPOL, Tom's Court Hotel has been chosen as our standalone dedicated COVID-19 positive medi-hotel.
"Tom's Court is a brand-new, 72-bed facility that includes four rooms with apartment style facilities suitable to accommodate families and two purpose-built disability suites.
"Many of the rooms have balconies and opening windows which can provide fresh air to the rooms.
"The central location also allows for a rapid transfer to the Royal Adelaide Hospital should it be required.
"Some modifications to the heating ventilation and air conditioning system are required to enable the hotel to meet SA Health's stringent requirements as a medi-hotel. Additional CCTV cameras also have to be installed.
"The modifications will be finalised as soon as possible and are expected to be completed to enable the facility to start from a target date of the first week in February.
"In the meantime, the two floors at the Pullman Hotel will remain as the dedicated COVID-19 facility, as this has proven to be a very successful interim model."
The agreement with Tom's Court Hotel follows a raft of changes to the medi-hotel system in South Australia.
"More than 8,000 people have quarantined in one of our medi-hotels to date," Minister Lucas said.
"To make the medi-hotel system as safe as possible, we have mandated routine testing of staff, implemented symptom checking and training reviews at the start of each shift, rolled-out refresher training on infection control measures and improved the security model.
"We have also increased health support and mental health wellbeing checks for guests.
"COVID-19 isn't going away any time soon and we are committed to putting as many shields as possible between the virus and the South Australian community for as long as it takes."
Tom's Court will be exclusively staffed by SA Health and SAPOL for nursing and security purposes. The agreement with Tom's Court has been signed for six months, with an option to extend.
The hotel is located on Toms Court Road off Halifax Street in the Adelaide central business district.
BACKGROUND
Prof Nicola Spurrier (press conference 31/12/20: "If it's in a remote location it's not going to be very practical because these are people who have COVID and we need to be able to provide health services and also in some of our remote locations we also have Aboriginal communities. This is one of the things we absolutely would not want anybody in SA to have, let alone some of our Aboriginal communities."
