193 people returned to Sydney from Yulara by air on Tuesday and Wednesday

HUNDREDS of New South Wales residents have flown back home from Yulara after the NT government declared several COVID-19 hot spots

• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to remain closed while Sydney arrivals tested for COVID
• Travellers cross into the Red Centre

TOTAL of 193 people returned to Sydney from Yulara by air on Tuesday and Wednesday, though not all of those had been in a declared hot spot before arriving in the Territory.

NT Health has conducted 92 COVID-19 tests in Yulara since Monday and all have so far been negative.

Eight people remain in quarantine in Alice Springs.

Another two people who were in quarantine have left the Northern Territory by air after testing negative.

The Sydney outbreak caused a spike in people voluntarily presenting for testing in Central Australia.

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When Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison made the hot spot declaration on Sunday, 19 people were tested at the COVID-19 drive-through testing clinic in Alice Springs.

The following day, 58 people turned up for tests.

These numbers do not account for tests conducted at private GP clinics as data from these clinics is usually only sent to NT Health every few days.

The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress does not supply testing figures to NT Health.

The risk posed by potentially infectious Sydneysiders has been a serious concern for vulnerable Aboriginal communities in Central Australia.

On Sunday, a plane from Sydney carrying 100 passengers arrived at Yulara, prompting the Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation (MCAC) to demand the closure of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park until all passengers had returned a negative test or gone back to NSW.

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On Monday, a flight carrying around 30 passengers from Sydney arrived into Yulara, extending the park’s closure.

Another plane arrived at Yulara airport on Tuesday but the CEO of MCAC, Thalia Bohl-van den Boogaard, said it was her understanding that flight wasn’t carrying any passengers.

She said it flew in to repatriate those NSW residents already at the resort who wished to return to NSW rather than undertake mandatory supervised quarantine.