COVID-19: Pizza worker’s ‘lie’ forced South Australia lockdown

South Australia decided to enter a state-wide lockdown after learning a man with COVID-19 had lied about his link to a pizza shop.

The strict six-day lockdown began on Wednesday after the state detected 36 infections, including its first locally acquired cases since April.

Authorities said, the order would have been avoided if a man had told health officials he had worked several shifts at a pizza shop.

State premier, Steven Marshall told reporters on Friday that the action of the man has put the country in a critical position.

Australia has relied on lockdowns, widespread testing and aggressive contact tracing to push daily infections close to zero.