Home quarantine begins today as NT eases Covid rules
The Territory’s new quarantine system has begun, with hundreds of interstate passengers touching down set to undergo seven days of home quarantine.
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SIXTEEN planes packed with interstate travellers will touch down in Darwin on Monday, just in time for the revamped home quarantine program.
From Monday vaccinated interstate travellers will spend just seven days in isolation at home, rather than 14-days in Territory-run quarantine facilities.
Rapid antigen testing has been stood up at all major Territory airports, with participants to be tested on arrival, as well as five, eight and 14 days afterwards.
Their families and housemates will still be able to attend work and go about their lives.
Home quarantine will be available in Greater Darwin and Alice Springs at first, with participants required to be fully vaccinated, have adequate 4G mobile reception and use the Good2Go app.
On Saturday Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced the major overhaul to the interstate travel program, following the success of the 40-day home quarantine trial.
The new home quarantine program will run until December 20, when it will be abolished five days before Christmas.
Rapid antigen testing will remain at the airports to screen arrivals.
“Every single person that comes to the Territory will get a rapid test done when they arrive and because of that, we will no longer require fully vaccinated arrivals from red zones to quarantine,” Mr Gunner said.
The quarantine changes bring forward the Territory’s reopening plans a month ahead of schedule.
But the doors will remain firmly shut to unvaccinated travellers, with Mr Gunner saying those refusing to get the jab were “no longer welcome in the Territory”.
The reforms to quarantine protocols comes as Howard Springs is increasingly used to house Territory residents identified as close contacts in the Katherine cluster, with 38 people transferred from the Binjari community.
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