Man travelling from Melbourne tests positive for coronavirus while on flight to Darwin

A MAN who was flying home to Darwin via Melbourne with his family while waiting on results of his COVID-19 test found out he had the virus mid-flight

• Three travellers may have been in COVID-19 hotspot before crossing into NT, police say
• First group of hotspot travellers allowed out of enforced Northern Territory quarantine

A MAN who was flying home to Darwin via Melbourne with his family while waiting on results of his COVID-19 test found out he had the virus mid-flight.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles revealed the man and his family had travelled to Victoria so that his child could receive essential medical care and had been given clearance by authorities to return to the NT under the proviso the entire group would go into quarantine upon arrival.

The man was asymptomatic but got himself tested in Victoria. He got his positive result back en route to Darwin.

Health minister Natasha Fyles provides the latest update on Coronavirus

Posted by The NT News on Thursday, 30 July 2020

The man was on Jetstar flight JQ678 leaving Melbourne at 9.15am and arriving in Darwin at 1.06pm.

Him, his family, and others on the flight due to go into mandatory quarantine had all been sectioned off to a certain part of the plane, away from others who had connected from other cities like Hobart.

Ms Fyles said the man is now at Royal Darwin Hospital in isolation.

This case is separate to an incident earlier today in which seven people were put into isolation after police received a tip-off that three men in the group may have been in a COVID-19 hotspot in the fortnight before they crossed in the Territory.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles addresses the media at Royal Darwin Hospital. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

Police say that three men aged 26, 27 and 29 and a 28-year-old woman travelled into the NT on Monday in a private car through a border control point on the Queensland and Territory border.

Police are investigating the travel movements of the group before entering the NT after they received information from a member of the public indicating the three men may have travelled from a declared COVID-19 hotspot within the previous fortnight.

The four people were found in Alice Springs, where they have been isolated pending further inquiries.

Environmental Health Officers immediately identified two women, aged 19 and 24, and a 27-year-old man who had been in recent contact with the group in Alice Springs and, as a result, are also in isolation.

COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in relation to all seven people is under way.

An NT Police spokeswoman said police and the Health Department would continue to maintain current systems, plans and processes to ensure the community remained safe.

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