Covid NT: Arrivals from SA must quarantine for seven days, two new cases in NT

Arrivals in to the NT from South Australia must quarantine after two new cases were detected in the Territory.

UPDATE FRIDAY 11.50AM: A WOMAN from South Australia was one of two new Covid cases diagnosed in the NT on Friday, prompting the government to declare the state a red zone from 8pm.

The woman, who was flying from Adelaide with two children, had taken a PCR test prior to departure and her test came back positive while she was in the air.

She was taken to the Howard Springs quarantine facility on arrival in Darwin.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said there would be close contacts from the flight who would be contacted shortly.

WATCH LIVE: Chief Minister Michael Gunner is providing a press conference after the Territory’s first COVID related death since the pandemic began.

Posted by The NT News on Thursday, December 2, 2021

From 8pm on Friday, vaccinated arrivals from South Australia must enter mandatory quarantine for seven days in an approved location.

However, unvacccinated arrivals must quarantine for 14 days at an approved location.

The second case was a man from Melbourne who was in home quarantine.

His PCR test on arrival and his RAT were negative.

After entering home quarantine, Victorian authorities alerted him he had visited an exposure site.

The man took another RAT at home, which was positive.

A PCR test by authorities was also positive.

He and his three family members are now in the Centre for National Resilience.

Deputy chief health officer Charles Pain said the cases were an indication the current testing regime was working.

“The system we set up, the testing system, was designed to pick up cases,” he said.

“That is an indication of the system working.”

UPDATE THURSDAY: NO new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the NT overnight and wastewater testing for Katherine has returned negative.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the results for across Katherine were negative, including at the Bicentennial Rd catchment which had been consistently positive for the past few weeks.

Ms Fyles said the lockout would remain until December 7, with the region not far off from approaching 80 per cent double vaccinated.

A new round of testing will be conducted for the Binjari community, with hopes the hard lockdown will be eased.

Ms Fyles said the wastewater testing in Lajamanu has turned a presumptive positive, with no positive Covid cases recorded thus far.

Ms Fyles also added changed directions for anyone coming to the NT from South Australia.

Individuals must have a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to travel and then be tested on day five.

People who did not arrive in the NT with a negative PCR test must immediately get tested and self-isolate. They can leave isolation once the result is returned negative.

EARLIER: LAJAMANU wastewater tests have confirmed a presumptive positive result but all individual tests have come back negative, Chief Minister Michael Gunner has said.

Speaking to ABC Darwin this morning Minister Gunner said newer information would be available later this morning.

“(There’s a) presumptive positive which means a declining strength,” he said.

“It does confirm again that there is a positive case in the community but all of the individual tests have come back negative.”

Minister Gunner said the information he had on hand was subject to change throughout the day.

He said the data that was coming back could signal something “extraordinary”.

“It looks like maybe an extraordinary scenario where we’ve had a case in community without spread but we’ll know hopefully soon,” he said.

Yesterday two new locally-acquired cases were recorded from the Binjari community, while a case of the new Omicron strain was confirmed in a returned traveller at Howard Springs.

Originally published as Covid NT: Arrivals from SA must quarantine for seven days, two new cases in NT