AMA NT calls for Territory to bar NSW arrivals before borders reopen on Friday amid Casula COVID-19 outbreak

NEW South Wales should be declared a hotspot and all travellers barred from entering the NT following a spike in cases, the NT’s peak medical body has advised. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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NEW South Wales should be declared a hotspot and all travellers barred from entering the NT following a spike in cases, the NT’s peak medical body has advised.

Australian Medical Association NT’s stance comes as other states, including South Australia, have postponed border reopening dates due to clusters in Victoria and emerging clusters in NSW.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner has remained firm that the NT’s borders will stay closed to coronavirus hotspots, wherever they may be.

With three days to go until NT’s borders reopen on Friday, Mr Gunner had not released advice on NSW as of last night, or specifically the town of Casula, where 21 cases have been linked to a single hotel.

A hotspot is defined as having five or more cases of community-transmitted coronavirus.

All of Victoria is currently considered a hotspot by the NT Government, meaning anyone who has travelled through there in the past 28 days and tries to get into the Territory will be forced into 14 days of mandatory quarantine at an approved location at their own expense.

A notice on the door of The Crossroads Hotel in Casula, which has been identified as a COVID-19 hotspot in southwest Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

NSW recorded 14 new cases up to 8pm on Sunday night and a further seven cases up to noon on Monday, with all seven new cases linked to Casula’s Crossroads Hotel.

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Mr Gunner yesterday said he, like all Territorians, would remain “stressed” through the pandemic and a level of worry would be good to make sure complacency didn’t set in.

“As soon as you get complacent, that’s when bad habits creep in and we’ve got four days to get back in the habit,” he said.

AMA NT president Robert Parker said the NT should put a hold on opening its borders to all of NSW until the situation in Casula became clearer.

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“NSW should be added to the hotspot list just like Victoria … until we know what’s happening to the hotspot in Casula, that would be my recommendation,” Dr Parker said.

South Australia has indicated it is reconsidering reopening borders to ACT and NSW on July 20.

Tasmania has postponed its border reopening date to July 24 for now.