Here’s what we know about the journey of two COVID-positive removalists who visited Victoria and SA

Two removalists who tested positive for coronavirus after visiting South Australia and Victoria last week have sparked concerns about possible local COVID-19 transmission. 

Here’s a look at their journey.

Where did the removalists start their trip?

The three-person crew arrived in Melbourne on Thursday, July 8, from Sydney’s west.

They delivered a set of furniture to a home in the outer Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn, then did a collection in the City of Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s west.

They came into contact with two families of four through that process.

Those families are isolating and have been tested for COVID-19.

The removalists also visited sites in Ballan and Broadmeadows.

An apartment building visited by two of the removalists has been plunged into lockdown as a result of the exposure risk.

Residents at the Ariele Apartments complex at Maribyrnong are now isolating for 14 days.

Four positive cases have been identified at the Ariele apartment complex, as well as the parents of a 60-year-old resident there. 

The 60-year-old man visited the MCG on Saturday, July 10, which has now been named as an exposure site. 

A Hungry Jack’s outlet and an adjoining Caltex service station — including the bowsers and toilets — on the Hume Highway at Kalkallo, in Melbourne’s northern outskirts, have been identified as tier 1 exposure sites.

The removalist crew was at the site for several minutes on Thursday morning, between 9:07am and 10:06am. Anyone who visited the location during that time must get tested “immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure”.

Victoria announced new cases linked with the removalists this morning.

What happened in McLaren Vale?

The group then travelled to McLaren Vale, in South Australia, the next morning, arriving that same day on Friday, July 9.

McLaren Vale is in the centre of the wine region of the same name, 40 kilometres south of Adelaide’s CBD.

The removalists spent five hours in contact with a family of five while unpacking.

They were not wearing face masks the whole time, however this is allowed since they were doing strenuous work that may be inhibited by wearing one.

It doesn’t appear that the removalists travelled together with the family.

The family members have been doing their 14-day quarantine ever since they arrived.

Under SA government rules, all people moving from NSW to South Australia are required to quarantine and be tested on days one, five and 13. This week the government revealed it was tightening the rules on those returning or moving to the state.

The family have so far tested negative to the virus. 

SA Premier Steven Marshall said there was “no evidence whatsoever of them being out and about in the McLaren Vale area”.

The removalists then visited Tailem Bend

On their way back from McLaren Vale, the crew stopped for food and petrol at the Shell service station in Tailem Bend, a town on the Murray River, about 100 kilometres south-east of Adelaide.

By that time, one of the crew had been told he was a close contact of a known case, and he did not leave the vehicle.

Another man, who later tested positive to COVID-19, went into the service station.

The site has been named as an exposure site between 5:20pm and 7:00pm on Friday, July 9.

Two workers at the site are in isolation despite having negative results from their first tests.

The removalists were not wearing masks while eating, as allowed.

They did not check in to the service station using the mySA GOV app.

SA authorities said there was a language barrier with two of the three removalists, but the third had been able to provide useful information.

Nineteen QR code check-ins were logged at the service station during the visit, and 13 at the adjacent Coolabah Tree Cafe, but people who did not check in have been urged to come forward.

Children there at the time may also not have been registered.

Contact tracers have begun interviewing more than 40 people who have indicated they may have visited the sites.

The service station includes the cafe, a Coles Express convenience store and other amenities for truck drivers.

It is on the main route from Adelaide to Sydney, Melbourne and the south-east of South Australia, with more than 8,000 vehicles travelling through per day on National Highway One, according to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport.

When did the removalists find out they were infectious?

While working in SA, a member of the crew was contacted by NSW Health and told he was a primary close contact of another positive case.

He was tested on July 10, after returning to NSW, and his positive result came back on Sunday.

Another member of the three-person crew returned a positive result on Monday.

A third exposure site in SA under investigation

SA Health is currently investigating another exposure site in Tailem Bend, but has not revealed where.