Central Australian police officer and partner test positive for COVID-19
AN NT police officer and his partner have become the first Central Australians to test positive for coronavirus in the NT. WATCH the full press conference VIDEO here
Northern Territory
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AN NT police officer and his partner have become the first Central Australians to test positive for coronavirus in the NT.
Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker has reassured the people of Harts Range in Central Australia, where the officer and his partner had been self-isolating, that they had taken all appropriate precautions to avoid contact with any members of the public.
The couple was moved from Harts Range — to be cared for at the Alice Springs Hospital — when they began to feel unwell
However, word of two people testing for the virus late on Thursday quickly caused uncertainty within Central Australian communities when details continued to remain scant overnight and for much of Friday.
And NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles would not confirm whether the two Central Australian coronavirus cases lived or worked in a remote community on Friday morning despite being given multiple opportunities to clarify the situation at a press conference (see below).
Mr Chalker apologised to the Harts Range community for the stress caused after the news broke late Thursday that the couple had tested positive.
“I think you will all agree that with the crisis we are dealing with we have to let authorities deal with the processes,” he said.
Mr Chalker said the couple had followed all the requirements before testing positive.
He said the officer had dedicated his life towards serving remote communities.
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Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon, the Commissioner said: “This officer ... flew back to Yulara [Uluru], which was their departure airport, where their vehicle was waiting.
“They drove back to Harts Range, stopping to fuel their car and minimising contact as much as possible. Upon starting to feel unwell, contact was made with the local clinic.
“The local health staff facilitated the delivery of a test kit that was left outside the house.
“The officer then went outside and collected the test kit and returned back inside, again no physical contact occurring at all.
“They then were given telephone instructions as it related to undertake the test.
“They secured the test appropriately, followed all the guidelines, placed the test back outside their house, and went back inside and continued their isolation.
“We now know that that test ultimately returned positive for both of them. Upon that positive confirmation, they were escorted back to Alice Springs ... they are now in the care of the health department.”
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The first confirmed Central Australian cases were among five new positive coronavirus cases recorded in the NT on Thursday, which also included a couple from Katherine.
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