‘Low positive’ COVID-19 test detected in Victorian visitor to Darwin

A MAN in his 60s who recently arrived in Darwin from Victoria has been taken to hospital today after returning a “low positive” test for COVID-19

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the “weak” test result posed a very low risk to the community. Picture: Che Chorley

A MAN in his 60s who recently arrived in Darwin from Victoria has been taken to Royal Darwin Hospital today after returning a “low positive” test for COVID-19.

The man had been staying at the Howard Springs quarantine facility after flying in from Victoria on Saturday when he tested “low positive”.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the “weak” test result posed a very low risk to the community.

“This morning, a gentleman in his 60s who’d recently arrived into the Northern Territory who was in quarantine at Howard Springs turned in a weak, positive result for COVID-19,” she said.

“This gentleman had previously had COVID-19 in Victoria.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles providing a COVID-19 update

Posted by The NT News on Sunday, 27 September 2020

“They had been cleared of COVID-19 with a negative test results, and there was a couple of weeks between them having that negative test result and travelling to the Northern Territory.

“They arrived into the Northern Territory on Saturday on JQ flight 674, which was via Brisbane.

“They along with a couple of other people from that flight, as I’ve been briefed, went straight to the quarantine facility at Howard Springs they were wearing the appropriate PPE.

“The individual, as I said, arrived Saturday evening. They had their test, and that result this morning came back with a weak positive result.

“This is not another COVID test result for the Northern Territory; our case numbers remain at 34.”

Acting Chief Health Officer Dr. Charles Pain said “low positives” were not an unknown phenomenon.

The man had been staying at the Howard Springs quarantine facility before testing ‘low positive’ for COVID-19. Picture: Che Chorley

“Every now and then we get cases where who have been positive in the past, and where fragments of the virus remain, and they’re detected,” he said.

“It’s a weak positive so what that means is it took a number of cycles of replication for it to turn positive — we’ve seen this around the country.

“It means it’s highly unlikely to be a contagious case however, we’ve treat him as if he is positive and that’s why he has been put into our facility where we keep positive patients.”

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The other most recent positive COVID-19 cases in the NT were recorded on July 31 and August 1.

A man on a flight from Melbourne to Darwin found out he had the virus just before he arrived.

He was already planning on going into quarantine and had been in a different part of the plane to other passengers. The man’s partner tested positive the next day.

The pair both fully recovered last month.

MORE TO COME