Covid NT: Galiwin’ku, Yirrkala in lockdown, 284 new cases recorded

Aboriginal health organisation explains why lockdown was best for their remote communities.

UPDATE TUES 11.30AM: MIWATJ Aboriginal Health Organisation have advocated for communities in North East Arnhem to enter lockdown.

Miwatj chairperson Rarrtjiwuy Herdman said the organisation worked with a number of stakeholders to ensure the safety of residents in Galiwin’ku and Yirrkala.

“Our priority is to provide the necessary services to support and protect our communities,” she said.

“We worked with other stakeholders to make the decision about lockdown because it was the best way to contain the outbreak and keep our communities safe.”

Ms Herdman said the community had increased their vaccination rates but it was still a challenge.

“Even though vaccination rates are good there is still work to do,”she said.

Both Galiwin’ku and Yirrkala are transient communities with families moving between the many surrounding homelands in remote parts of the Territory which Ms Herdman said made testing is difficult and challenging.

“Which is why the lockdown is important to contain this spread and ensure we get testing and isolate Covid in these communities,” she said.

Ms Herdman said Miwatj iniated a surge team after Christmas when there was a positive wastewater in Nhulunbuy.

“Here in North East Arnhem, and really across the Territory, we haven’t dealt with Covid-19 for the last two years like the rest of the country,” she said.

“We are continuing to educate our communities about the importance of getting vaccinated, recognising Covid symptoms and also the process of getting tested.”

“The PCR testing has not worked for us here. We only have one flight a day to Darwin, at noon, so if you don’t have all the testing done before then we are left waiting another 24 hours before the tests even make it to pathology in Darwin.”

She said the largest delays for PCR testing was getting results back from Darwin pathology labs, as a result the organisation had moved to using Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT).

The first positive case was recorded in Galiwin’ku on January 10, on Monday there were 16 positive cases.

A department of health spokesman said the decision to lockdown Galiwin’ku and Yirrkala was in order to ensure a local solution could be enacted to manage the outbreak.

“The lockdown will buy us time to identify how the virus is spreading through these communities and to better control that spread,” he said.

“Public health measures have been put in place to protect vulnerable people in remote communities – including restrictions on travel to exclusion zones, a mask mandate and lockouts and lockdowns when appropriate.”

The department said the management of the pandemic bought the NT time to achieve world-leading vaccination rates before COVID-19 spread through the Territory.

Vaccination rates in Galiwin’ku and Yirrkala were above 80 per cent single dose but below 70 per cent double dose, which included children 5 years and up.

The government spokesman confirmed they were no longer using the Doherty modelling which had originally called for 80 per cent vaccination rates five years and over in remote communities.

“The Doherty modelling was completed before Omicron was reported in Australia. The Omicron variant has been a game-changer in terms of how we manage this pandemic. We know it is more infectious than Delta, but less virulent,” he said.

“Accordingly, we have requested further modelling to account for the impact of Omicron.”

The government said that acute cases in Northeast Arnhem would not be treated at the Gove Hospital.

Acute hospital COVID-19 patients are admitted to Royal Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek Hospital.

EARLIER: GALIWIN’KU and Elcho Island will go into a seven day lockdown from 2pm today.

Yirrkala will also go into lockdown, but for 72 hours.

It comes as 284 cases were recorded overnight, with 1303 PCR tests done across the Territory.

39 people remain in hospital, with 25 acute patients. There is one person in ICU.

The total number of cases is 3951, down from 4067 yesterday.

There were 19 cases recorded in Galiwin’ku.

“Our vaccine rates on the island are okay but slightly lower than other Eastern Arnhem communities,” deputy chief minister Nicole Manison said.

“This is a very isolated part of the Northern Territory and we have many people there with complex health needs.”

She said the lockdown was needed to stop movement on the island and slow the spread of Covid, while acknowledging that it would be very difficult to eliminate the virus there completely.

25 health staff and 9 people are being moved onto the island for lockdown.

In Yirrkala there were two new cases and positive wastewater results, with 72 hours needed for authorities to get more information.

Seven additional cases were recorded in Yuendemu and six more in Yuelamu.

Breakdown of NT's active cases

Greater Darwin	2115
Alice Springs	535
East Arnhem	70
Katherine	194
Barkly	35

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16 UPDATE

ALICE Springs will enter a lockout for seven days from 3pm.

It comes as 327 new cases were recorded in the Northern Territory overnight.

There were 12 additional admissions to hospital, taking the total to 44 cases.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said this represented 1.1 per cent of active cases in the Territory.

“The pressure on the health system there has reached a point where we felt we needed to make an adjustment there,” Deputy Chief Health Officer Charles Pain said.

“We need to use our health care resources in the Territory in a way they don’t get overwhelmed,” he said.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the idea behind the sudden lockout was to keep unvaccinated people from being exposed.

“What we want to avoid is severe cases presenting to Alice Springs Hospital,” he said.

“The lockout reduces the risk of an unvaccinated person being exposed to Covid, to avoid them presenting to the hospital.”

“This is a cautionary measure to make sure things remain manageable.”

Amoonguna, Yuendemu and Yuelamu will also be under lockout settings until Sunday, January 23.

Mr Gunner announced 5 new cases in both Amoonguna and Yuendemu and 6 new cases in Yuelamu.

Of particular concern were 3 cases in inmates at Darwin Correctional Centre.

A lockout means there are only 4 reasons for unvaccinated people to leave the house, including medical treatment, essential goods and services, exercise and to provide care.