Parts of QLD declared hot spots, 33rd COVID-19 case recorded in NT as trio investigated in Red Centre
NT health authorities have barred travellers from parts of QLD, in a dramatic day of coronavirus fears that included a man testing positive for COVID-19 while on a flight to Darwin.
Northern Territory
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NORTHERN Territory health authorities have barred travellers from parts of Queensland, in a dramatic day of heightened coronavirus fears that included a man testing positive for COVID-19 while on a flight to Darwin and a police investigation being launched into a trio potentially breaching border rules in the Red Centre.
Chief Health Officer Dr Hugh Heggie declared late on Friday that travellers from Greater Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich will be forced into mandatory quarantine if they choose to travel to the NT, as the state grapples with a potential outbreak of the virus.
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Meanwhile, a Territorian father who found out he had coronavirus while on a flight to Darwin via Melbourne had been cleared to return to the NT with his family by authorities.
The NT’s 33rd positive case is separate to an unfolding coronavirus scare in the Red Centre, where seven people were put into isolation yesterday after a tip-off to police revealed three men in the groups may have recently been in a hotspot.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles confirmed the Territory’s latest case of coronavirus late yesterday afternoon and assured the community that all protocols had been followed.
The family had been given clearance “some time ago” to travel to Victoria so a child could receive urgent medical care for a potentially life-threatening illness, with the condition they would go into quarantine upon return.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Charles Payne said it was in the patient’s best health interests to keep the care plan intact despite the coronavirus crisis unfolding in Victoria.
The man had been asymptomatic but went to get a coronavirus test in Melbourne. He received his positive result midway through the journey from Melbourne to Darwin on Jetstar flight JQ678.
Him, his family, and others on the flight due to go into mandatory quarantine had all been sectioned off to a certain part of the plane, away from others who had connected to the flight from other cities like Hobart.
Ms Fyles said those passengers had been wearing personal protective equipment.
The man is now in isolation at Royal Darwin Hospital.
In a separate matter, the NT News understands Australian Federal Police were looking into a matter involving a Virgin flight from Brisbane to Darwin yesterday. The AFP declined to comment, redirecting the matter to NT Health, who failed to respond by deadline.
In the Red Centre a police investigation is underway after three men aged 26, 27 and 29 and a 28-year-old woman travelled into the NT on Monday in a private car through a border control point on the Queensland and Territory border.
Police are investigating the travel movements of the group before entering the NT after they received information from a member of the public indicating the three men may have travelled from a declared COVID-19 hotspot within the previous fortnight.
The four people were found in Alice Springs, where they have been isolated pending further inquiries.
Environmental Health Officers immediately identified two women, aged 19 and 24, and a 27-year-old man who had been in recent contact with the group in Alice Springs and, as a result, are also in isolation.
COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in relation to all seven people is under way.
An NT Police spokeswoman said police and the Health Department would continue to maintain current systems, plans and processes to ensure the community remained safe.
Queensland recorded one new COVID-19 case yesterday, with a further 632 in Victoria.
Originally published as Parts of QLD declared hot spots, 33rd COVID-19 case recorded in NT as trio investigated in Red Centre