The principal at a primary school in South Australia's north has been forced to close one of its reception classes on the first day of school because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Nine students and a teacher have come down with COVID at Stirling North Primary School, just outside Port Augusta.
"The mini cluster or the outbreak in that classroom was something we envisaged would happen but probably not as quickly as it has happened," principal Adam Wilson said.
"I've been guided by SA Health. I've been on the phone to them most of the weekend and they've made that recommendation with the Department of Education."
The class will be closed for three days.
Mr Wilson said the number of positive results in the school community edged up during the past week.
"It escalated quite quickly toward the end of the week so it has been a definite hotspot," he said.
He said if the outbreak worsened, he might have to step into the classroom or ask teachers from different departments to fill in.
Port Augusta outbreak growing
The COVID-19 outbreak in nearby Port Augusta is continuing to worsen.
The city is now home to 372 active cases, or more than 880 cases since the most recent outbreak began.
A quarantine camp for Indigenous people from the state's north who are unable to safely isolate elsewhere has been operational for about two weeks.
"Last time I heard there were about 37 people in there. I knew somebody had [been taken there from] as far away as Pipalyatjara, which is on the APY Lands," local woman Lavene Ngatokorua said.
Ms Ngatokorua, a Wangkangurru, Adnyamathanha, Kuyani and Luritja woman from the neighbouring Aboriginal community of Davenport, said Davenport residents were worried about the outbreak.
"There are a lot of people concerned that it's spreading across the community," Ms Ngatokorua said.
Cases trending down on west coast
The CEO of the Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation, Wayne Miller, said case numbers there had calmed.
"Really good to see numbers reducing into the single digits per day," he said.
"We're not out of the woods yet, but it's really positive to see things moving on a downward trend."
The quarantine camp at Emu Farm near Ceduna, similar to the one at Port Augusta, has discharged its first group of patients.
"There are 15 people in there at the moment, or thereabouts, and we have capacity for about 90. So still underutilised, but that's a good thing because we've been able to address the growing numbers."
There are now no active cases in Koonibba, which was one of the first west coast communities to experience an outbreak at the start of the year.
"Had a few weeks of lockdown in the community, which is hard for everybody because they can't get out and about, but ultimately we were able to get on top of COVID in the community," Mr Miller said.
There are still active cases in Scotdesco, west of Koonibba, while there have not been outbreaks in the Oak Valley or Yalata communities.
