A coronavirus patient who was yesterday hospitalised in Adelaide remains in a critical condition, health authorities say.
Acting Chief Public Health Officer Michael Cusack previously said the man was believed to have the South African variant of COVID-19 and was suffering breathlessness.
Australian Medical Association (AMA) state president Chris Moy said the man would most likely be on a ventilator to help him breathe.
Mr Moy said precautions had been taken in South Australia to ensure the case would not spark an outbreak, including using a dedicated COVID-19 hospital.
“They have actually measured things like airflow to minimise things like airborne spread, they should be using the highest quality PPE and also all of the staff looking after that patient should be vaccinated already,” he said.
“Some of those mistakes were made in Queensland, in the Brisbane situation, so we are hoping that right across Australia, we have learnt those lessons.”
In unrelated cases, another two men, both aged in their 40s, have tested positive to COVID-19 in South Australia.
SA Health said both acquired their infections overseas and had been in a medi-hotel since their arrival.
According to SA Health 174 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total number of vaccinations administered in the state to 28,933, not including those administered through the federal government.
Mr Moy said the roll-out should not be judged so early in process and that there would always be “teething problems” given the size of the program.
“Essentially only a third of the 4,600 practices that have been lined up have actually come online and they have been relying on very limited supplies only from overseas.
“To judge that is really like judging a football team with a third of its team out there and they haven’t even been given a football.
“Let’s give them a chance and judge them at the end, not now.”
He said the AMA supported the federal government releasing the number of vaccines sent to each state and territory.
