Even after almost a year, COVID-19 has managed to surprise everybody with a turn of events few would have predicted.

South Australia went from no community transmission in three months to a ban on dog-walking and takeaway food in just a few days, then back to almost normal after another 48 hours.

As the state emerges from what must feel like a fever dream, there’s an obvious question: should someone be sacked, or was this episode the result of an understandable mistake based on what health officials thought they knew?

It’s worth pointing out there are still only 27 confirmed cases in the so-called Parafield cluster, which started with a worker in one of Adelaide’s quarantine hotels earlier this month.