Chief Minister Michael Gunner reveals NT mask mandate lifted except for Katherine, Robinson River, one new Covid case recorded overnight
The NT’s mask mandate has lifted for all areas except Katherine and Robinson River and one new Covid case has been recorded in the Territory.
Northern Territory
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UPDATE: VACCINATION rates have jumped across remote Northern Territory communities as officials reported one new locally-acquired Covid-19 case on Saturday.
Masks were also tossed aside at 11am everywhere in the Territory except for Katherine and Robinson River after the government removed its mandate earlier than planned.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said new case was a 31-year-old, fully vaccinated Aboriginal woman from Robinson River who not infectious while in the community.
She was transferred to Howard Springs on Wednesday and tested positive overnight.
It takes the total number of cases in the current cluster to 26, with two infected people requiring hospital treatment in Darwin.
Mr Gunner also said a weak “presumptive” positive wastewater result was recorded in the Marlow Lagoon catchment, near Palmerston. He added a firmer positive wastewater result was returned for Binjari, near Katherine, with a higher potential for a new case to emerge.
There were 3084 tests conducted in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, with 512 in Katherine and 230 in Binjari.
Chief health officer Dr Charles Pain said the Territory could not be complacent, given wastewater detections and a missing link in the cluster.
But Dr Pain said the “silver lining” of the outbreak had been a spike in vaccination take up, particularly in Central Australia and the Barkly.
“There are still some communities where there is some reluctance,” he said.
“We were most lucky that Robinson River had such a high vaccination rate.
“The risk of something like this getting out of control is just too great a risk for us to take.”
Masks were thrown aside on Saturday morning after the government removed a Territory-wide mandate.
Face-coverings are now only required in Katherine and Robinson River.
Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce said the decision would help many venues bring in more patrons over the rest of the weekend.
“We thank the Chief for listening to industry concerns that masks be lifted as soon as it is safe to do so,” Mr Bruce said.
“We know (a mask mandate) wipes out about 30 per cent of sales. Cafes and restaurants operate at margins lower than that.”
Mr Bruce said many restaurants and venues had seen cancellations.
“We lost 21sts and 18ths (birthdays) for the weekend, but at least there’s confidence now.
“We’re heading into our Christmas functions … so it’s good they can proceed without masks.”
Many venues were contacting previous cancellations to see if they would reconsider booking.
Punters were spotted at many cafes and watering holes after the restrictions lifted.
Katherine Vazquez said the mask mandate being lifted came as a relief.
“(I’m) more keen to go out to do activities now I don’t have to wear a mask.”
UPDATE: ONE new positive Covid-19 case has been recorded in the NT overnight, a woman from Robinson River.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the 31-year-old, fully vaccinated Aboriginal woman was not infectious while in the community. She was transferred to the Centre for National Resilience on Wednesday and tested positive overnight.
There were also no new exposure sites.
There were 3084 tests conducted overnight, with 512 in Katherine and 230 in Binjari, just outside of Katherine.
In response, the NT’s mask mandate has been lifted for all of the jurisdiction except Katherine and Robinson River.
Mr Gunner also said a weak “presumptive” positive was recorded in the Marlow Lagoon wastewater catchment.
Acting chief health officer Charles Pain said “presumptive” positives likely turn into positive Covid results and urged anyone with symptoms to get tested.
Mr Gunner added a firmer positive wastewater result was returned for Binjari, with a higher potential for a new case to emerge.
About 14,600 vaccines were administered in the Northern Territory this week.
EARLIER: CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner will provide an update on Saturday morning as concern grows around the Northern Territory’s largest Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began.
There were 25 cases linked with the Darwin-Katherine-Robinson River cluster on Friday, two of which were being treated in the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Mr Gunner is expected to provide updated figures at 11.15am Saturday.
Most of the cases detected in recent days have been in Indigenous Territorians, with concerns about the hyper-infectious Delta strain potentially spreading to remote communities with low vaccination rates.
Health officials are concerned about the nine-day gap between the first four cases and the remaining 21, after the virus was brought into the Territory by a 21-year-old Cairns woman who lied about her movements on her border form in late October.
On Friday it was revealed there was a positive Covid-19 wastewater detection in the Binjari community, on Katherine’s outskirts.
Mr Gunner said rapid assessment teams were sent to the community to test all of its 200 residents and offer them vaccines.
Lockdown continues in both Robinson River, in the Roper Gulf, and in Katherine. A Territory-wide mask mandate is also in place, but Mr Gunner said the restriction could be reconsidered on Saturday depending on cases.
Authorities revealed on Friday that three close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases had travelled to Yuendumu, which has a double-dose vaccination rate of 18 per cent.
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