Father with Covid out of ICU as condition improves

A father with Covid has been moved out of ICU after his condition improved.

UPDATE 6.30PM TUESDAY: A FATHER of three who is in the Royal Darwin Hospital’s ICU with coronavirus has been moved to a Covid ward after his condition improved.

The man’s wife, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was still on oxygen and “a lot of IV medicines”.

“They’re working on lowering his oxygen levels to see how he goes when they lower it, to see if he passes out without oxygen or not,” she said.

“At this stage he’s not coming out until at least Saturday.”

She said he was in a stable condition but there was still no guarantee he would not end up back in the ICU.

“He says he’s feeling better,” she said.

“He’s still extraordinarily tired after being prodded and poked.”

The Katherine man returned a positive Covid test while he was at the Howard Springs quarantine facility.

His wife also tested positive. Both are double-vaccinated.

The family is believed to have become infected through the MacFarlane Primary School in Katherine.

The woman said her husband, who was in his 50s, was advocating for people to get vaccinated.

“He said to me today if someone isn’t vaccinated they need to be vaccinated,” she said.

THE Northern Territory has recorded no new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to 11.30am Tuesday.

Meanwhile the Katherine wastewater test results remain positive.

The lockout for Katherine will still end at noon Wednesday with a mask mandate in place for another week.

Lajamanu’s lockout will end at noon Tuesday (today).

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the Territory had “succeeded in suppressing this outbreak”.

He said the Territory was expecting more cases but it would not mean lockdowns and lockouts would be automatic.

“We cannot wait for Covid to completely disappear before removing restrictions because we will be waiting forever,” he said.

“We have to learn to live with this thing.”

Deputy chief health officer Charles Pain said the government was expecting more cases within households.

Territory Controller Jamie Chalker said it was planned for those in Katherine and Binjari that their lockdown would end at noon Wednesday.

But he said a mask mandate would continue, regardless of where Katherine residents travelled to.

There is still some indication of Covid in the community, he said, as he encouraged travellers to avoid the area if possible.

EARLIER: Chief Minister Michael Gunner spoke to media regarding the latest in the Covid oubreak at 11.30am.

He was joined by deputy chief health officer Charles Pain and Territory Controller Jamie Chalker.

It came after the Territory recorded three new Covid-19 cases on Monday: a 3-year-old child in Katherine, a home quarantining man from Melbourne, and a woman from London who was also home quarantining.

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Originally published as Father with Covid out of ICU as condition improves