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Last week a privately funded emergency medical evacuation flight flew into Adelaide airport bringing back a seriously ill family.

The family of three came from an Indonesian hospital and was transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The flight caused a bit of a stir among the South Australian media, who quizzed Premier Steven Marshall about it. He professed ignorance and passed questions on to South Australian Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier.

It turns out that the flight carried a reporter for The Australian newspaper and their partner, who both tested positive to COVID-19 last month while on assignment and then fell seriously ill.

CBD has decided not to name the family due to privacy concerns.

“Their six-year-old daughter also tested positive to COVID and was airlifted with her parents,” The Australian’s managing editor, John Lehmann, told us.

A global health services operator made the call about the medevac flight and decided it met all government requirements, he said.

“The company obtained all relevant health and government approvals independently from The Australian. The safety of our staff is very important to us and we are relieved and grateful the family is now recovering.”