A group of 18 American tourists were quarantined in their accommodation in the Barossa Valley on the weekend after 10 of them tested positive for coronavirus.
They were staying at The Louise on Seppeltsfield Road. Some of them have since been transferred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Four of them tested negative and health authorities are waiting for the results of the remaining four tests.
WBM understands the tourists visited a number of cellar doors and restaurants in the area over the past week or so.
One of those restaurants is one of the Barossa’s most popular dining experiences.
Anxiety levels in the wine industry and the broader community are high with everyone anxious to know where they had been.
The news led to a string of Barossa cellar doors closing on Saturday and Sunday including Chateau Yaldara, Two Hands Wines, Ubertas, Jacob’s Creek, Tscharke Wines and Murray Street Vineyards.
Fino at Seppeltsfield has also closed. There is no suggestions the tourists visited these places.
WBM asked the Barossa Grape & Wine Association if they knew where the tourists had been.
They said: “SA Health haven’t provided us insight into the group’s itinerary, so we do not feel it prudent to provide commentary on locations.”
Some wineries are distancing themselves from the coronavirus scare.
“We would like to reassure that Chateau Tanunda was not on the itinerary of the publicised US-visitor group of 18 who visited the Barossa in the last week,” Chateau Tanunda said in a Facebook post.
“We are pleased to confirm the group did not visit our estate, nor have any contact with Chateau Tanunda staff.”
The Americans arrived in Australia before the mandatory 14-day self-isolation came into effect. They arrived in Adelaide by plane from interstate.
SA Health chief public health officer Dr Nicola Spurrier said, “I’m actually quite calm about this because I know that these people have done exactly the right thing.
“They have come from a country where there is a high number of cases, they have recognised the symptoms and very quickly isolated themselves and got tested.
“There is absolutely no reason for people in the Barossa to panic.
“What you need to do now is let my team go through the standard public health process of interviewing those people and finding out exactly where they’ve been.
“You need to be calm and patient while my team works through the details.
“Anybody who is considered to be a close contact will be individually contacted.”
WBM first heard about this on Friday but we couldn’t verify it. The details were released at a SA Health media conference late today.
Two tested positive on Friday night and the others today.
Meanwhile consumers are stocking up on alcohol with the big chains like Dan Murphy’s reporting increased business.
Most wineries are focusing their efforts on selling wine direct to the public with free shipping in many cases.
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