Canberra declared hotspot by NT government

The nation’s capital has become the latest jurisdiction to be locked out of the Northern Territory, after Canberra reported one Covid-19 case and was plunged into lockdown.

UPDATED: THE nation’s capital has been barred from entering the Northern Territory after a confirmed case of Covid-19 was infectious in Canberra for days.

The new case has plunged the ACT into lockdown for seven days.

Anyone who arrives in the NT from the ACT after 4.30pm will now be sent to Howard Springs or the Alice Springs quarantine facility.

There are also new requirements for anyone who has arrived in the Territory since Thursday August 5.

The NT’s Emergency Operations Centre now requires anyone who has arrived from the ACT in the past seven days to get a Covid-19 test and to isolate until they receive a negative result.

EARLIER: CANBERRA will be shut-out of the Territory, joining New South Wales and Greater Melbourne as declared hotspots by the chief health officer Dr Hugh Heggie.

The declaration will come into force from 4.30pm Thursday, however the NT News understands there will be a requirement for recent arrivals from the ACT to be tested even if they have entered the NT prior to then

Dr Heggie is understood to be receiving a briefing in AHPPC.

It comes after a confirmed Covid-19 case was detected in the ACT, with the source of the infection unknown.

The ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has since announced the nation’s capital will be plunged into its first lockdown since the early days of the pandemic from 5pm AEST Thursday.

It joins Greater Sydney and a dozen local government areas in regional NSW in lockdown, as Sydney’s second wave of infections continues to grow.

The lockdown comes in the middle of federal parliament sitting, with it being unclear whether the NT’s representatives will make it back to the Territory before the borders close.

More to come.

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