Health bosses and organisers assessing whether to cancel grand final footy events

FANS planning to go to Sunday’s Tiwi Islands football grand final — which traditionally attracts large numbers of visitors from all over the country — have been asked not to attend if they have been overseas in the last 14 days or have cold-like symptoms

The Tiwi Islands Land Council has asked people heading to the island community this weekend for the Tiwi Grand Final and Art Sale not to come if they are sick. Picture: Justin Kennedy

THE COVID-19 health lead and deputy chief health officer Dianne Stephens is making a decision on whether the NTFL and Tiwi grand finals this weekend will go ahead.

It comes after the Chief Health Officer Professor Brendan Murphy today told the nation’s leaders to cancel mass gatherings of more than 500 people.

Fans planning to go to Sunday’s Tiwi Islands football grand final — which traditionally attracts large numbers of visitors from all over the country — have a nervous wait to find out if Prof Stephens recommends cancelling the event.

The Tiwi Regional Council is assessing whether to put a blanket ban on interstate travellers from attending. A decision on the matter will be made tomorrow.

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A council spokeswoman called for calm and understanding.

“Let’s be cautious and considerate for the other communities where we have a lot of chronic illness. A flu or bug like that can harm our community. It would spread like wildfire,” she said.

The NT AFL grand final is on Sunday and typically attracts a big crowd – a decision on whether it goes ahead will be made at 4pm today.

However those have been sick or have been overseas in the last 14 days have been asked by the Tiwi Land Council not to attend their grand final.

The council released a statement today asking for people to stop and think before going to the game this weekend to “protect our remote community and stop COVID-19 from coming to Tiwi Islands”.

The Tiwi Islands Grand Final and Art sale is one of the biggest events on the Tiwi calendar when up to 3000 spectators turn out to watch the grand final.

Thousands of visitors and tourists fly and ferry over from the mainland to the islands for the day.

The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, which was meant to go ahead tomorrow, was cancelled abruptly this morning because of the coronavirus crisis.

Cricket Australia also announced today that it had banned fans from attending tonight’s Australia v New Zealand ODI series.

The trans-Tasman rivals will now play two matches in an empty Sydney Cricket Ground today and Sunday, and then another next Friday in Hobart.

AFL players are also bracing for the possibility of the 2020 season being postponed amid growing concern over the outbreak. The National Rugby League is also mulling its options.

Today’s Tiwi Land Council statement asks intended grand final visitors not to come if they have travelled to any overseas country in the last fortnight, or have any respiratory symptoms including a cough, sore throat, runny nose or fever.

In the statement the council said it was looking to protect its elders and vulnerable people.

“We look forward to welcoming you in 2021,” it said.

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Traditionally, grand final day is the only day of the year that visitors can travel to the Tiwi Islands without a visitor permit, and SeaLink runs extra ferry services for the large numbers of visitors.