NT Covid: 404 new cases, essential workers close contacts able to work

Lockout will end for most areas of the NT and essential workers who are identified as close contacts may still be able to work, as the Territory records more than 400 new cases.

MONDAY, 12PM UPDATE: THE NT recorded cases 404 new cases of Covid yesterday, including 112 rapid antigen test positive results.

There are two people in ICU, with one on a ventilator.

It takes the total active cases to 2060 with 584 identified close contacts.

A new direction has been ordered for essential workers where close contacts who are asymptomatic will be able to continue working as long as they have returned negative RAT results and wear personal protective equipment.

For childcare workers considered a close contact who is asymptomatic can still work as long as they are wearing masks and are testing negative.

These include industries like childcare, supermarkets and healthcare.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said this has happened before in Woolworths in Katherine during the outbreak last year.

Mr Gunner confirmed that the lockout has ended, and a vaccine pass system will now be enforced.

Yuendemu and Yuelamu will continue under a lockdown for the next 5 days.

Mr Gunner said those communities are still reporting a low vaccine rate.

“Sadly we are not seeing the change in a meaningful way,” he said.

EARLIER: THE Territory-wide lockout will end at midday on Monday as planned, the NT News understands.

Under the lockout, unvaccinated adults have only been allowed to leave their homes for medical services, essential goods and to provide care.

A vaccine pass system will be introduced in its place, meaning all Territorians will need to show proof of their Covid-19 vaccination status before they’re allowed to enter most public venues.

Those venues include pubs and clubs, casinos, restaurants, and cinemas.

The pass system also includes ticketed events for over 500 people in urban centres and over 100 in non-urban centres.

The Territory-wide indoor mask mandate remains in place.

SUNDAY UPDATE: POSITIVE Covid patients are now responsible for warning close contacts of their infection as triple-digit Covid figures threaten to overwhelm contact tracers.

The Territory has entered its fifth day of triple-digit Covid figures, with 481 new cases confirmed overnight.

Secure NT said contact tracers were trying to determine the origin of 292 mystery cases, which made up 60 per cent of all 481 new cases.

There were 44 cases of community transmission, 93 close contacts and 52 interstate arrivals.

The new cases include patients in Yarralin, Gunbulunya and Yirrkala.

All cases and identified close contacts are in isolation, with further contact tracing is underway.

A single case is being investigated in Numbulwar but is yet to be confirmed a true positive.

It comes as changes have been made to the notification and management of positive cases as the cluster spreads to every region in the Territory.

Anyone from an urban centre who has a positive PCR or Rapid Antigen Test result will be

contacted through an automatic SMS and required to complete an online registration form.

The form will be used to inform health professionals about the level of care required and if this can be undertaken safely at home with follow-up contact from health.

Urban centres include Greater Darwin, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.

“Those people who cannot complete the form or those people living in remote communities will still be contacted by NT Health with a phone call,” Secure NT said.

“Covid positive people should notify members of their household and any close contacts that they have received a positive test result.”

Secure NT said the changes were part of the “transition to a living with Covid model”.

The public listing of exposure sites will also be phased out, with Chief Minister Michael Gunner previously saying skyrocketing cases meant the site would have too much information to be usable.

The NT Government did not hold their daily Covid briefing on Sunday, despite more than 1000 active cases in the community.

Health officials confirmed there were 24 patients in hospital, with eight classified as acute hospital admissions including one in the intensive care unit.

On Friday, Natasha Fyles said internal modelling estimated for every 100 Omicron infections, one person would end up in hospital.

More than 2515 Covid-19 tests were processed across the Territory on Saturday.

UPDATE SATURDAY PRESS CONFERENCE: One person is on a ventilator in the Royal Darwin Hospital battling Covid-19.

They are one of 17 people in hospitals across the Territory, including four people in Alice Springs and four in Tennant Creek.

In RDH, there are three adults in the Covid-19 ward, while two children are in the paediatric ward, one with their mother who also has the virus.

The seventh case in RDH is the person in intensive care.

It comes as the Territory recorded almost 600 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday night.

There are 1650 active cases in the Territory, while more than 3000 tests were undertaken in the same 24 hours on Friday.

Of the new cases, 65 are community transmissions, 101 come from close contacts, 67 from interstate arrivals and two from international cases.

Almost 360 new cases are still under investigation.

There are 835 close contacts who have already been identified as close contacts.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said some of the new cases had been in Yuendumu, which was concerning due to the community’s low vaccination rate.

UPDATE SATURDAY MORNING: THE NT has recorded 594 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday.

The data includes positive cases from rapid antigen tests reported to NT Health and 65 cases of community transmission.

Another 101 cases were close contacts of known cases and 67 were interstate arrivals while two were from overseas, with 359 cases still under investigation.

All confirmed cases and identified close contacts are in isolation with 17 patients currently in hospital, six of whom are classified as acute admissions, including one who is in intensive care.

Three of the cases are from Yuendumu and an NT Health team is travelling to the remote community to undertake testing and provide vaccines.

More than 3000 tests were processed throughout the Territory on Friday while a lockout for unvaccinated Territorians and indoor mask mandate remain in place.

UPDATE FRIDAY: HEALTH experts estimate for every 100 Omicron infections one person will end up in hospital, as the Territory on Friday recorded another day of ­triple-figure cases.

The NT recorded 412 new Covid cases, including 191 mystery cases, 70 community transmission, 80 close contacts and 71 interstate arrivals.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said it was now assumed Covid had spread to every part of the Territory. Ms Fyles said internal modelling predicted 50 per cent of all new infections were Omicron, with the remaining cases Delta.

She said given the known health risks and the high vaccination rate in the Territory, the government anticipated one hospital patient in 100 infections, with cases varying from a short stay to an intensive level care.

Ms Fyles said despite the “concerning rise” in cases, hospitalisation rates had not yet spiked. She said there were 19 people in hospital, many with underlying health issues. Two people are in intensive care, with one person on a ventilator. “We can still manage these numbers that we’re seeing and I expect these numbers to grow over the coming days,” Ms Fyles said. “But looking at those hospitalisation figures ensures that we have confidence in our system.”

Acting deputy chief health officer Marco Briceno said of the nearly 1200 active cases, only five required acute hospital admission.

Dr Briceno called for a more “balanced approach” to dealing with positive cases among health workers, as Ms Fyles confirmed 30 NT Health staff had been infected.

He said there had been an “aggressive” approach in removing staff from the front lines, but that resulted in shortages of doctors, nurses, cleaners and admin staff.

“We need to have a more practical approach, or perhaps a better balanced approach to keep our patients safe and our staff safe,” Dr Briceno said.

Ms Fyles said the health system was “agile”, with additional PPE and cleaning shifts rolling out.

Ms Fyles could not clarify how many health workers had been taken off their rotations after being identified as close contacts.

Despite RATs being listed in the daily Covid cases and used to screen interstate visitors, Ms Fyles said a positive test was still not enough to list a venue as an exposure site. It comes as the Eastside IGA failed to be listed, despite nine workers reportedly producing positive rapid antigen results.

Ms Fyles said health authorities would consider changing this, and investigate a centralised system to upload RAT results.

UPDATE: The NT’s Covid cases have doubled with 412 people confirmed positive in the last 24 hours.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the cases included: 70 cases of community transmission, 80 cases of known close contacts, 71 interstate arrival cases and 191 cases still under investigation.

The NT now has 1200 active cases. The data includes positive cases from rapid antigen tests that have not been reported to NT Health.

Nineteen people are in Northern Territory hospitals, with two in intensive care and one on a ventilator.

“In terms of today’s numbers, I can acknowledge that is concerning that we’ve had significant escalation,” Ms Fyles said.

There were no positive cases recorded in Yulara.

Twenty-two were recorded in Alice Springs and one in Tennant Creek. Investigations are undergoing in Katherine and Nhulunbuy.

Ms Fyles said the 27 community transmission cases recorded on Thursday had now risen to 38.

She also confirmed that approximately 30 staff in NT health had tested positive but stated that the majority of those cases were from interstate travel or close contacts.

Acting deputy chief health officer Marco Briceno said while the increase in cases was concerning, it was positive the number of hospitalisations had not grown significantly.

“Of the 1200 active cases we have at the moment in the Territory, only five of those cases are requiring acute hospital admission,” he said.

“We have another 14 patients, 19 in total, that are in our hospitals but they are in hospital for different reasons.

“We still have plenty of capacity in our hospitals to care for Territorians.”

He said the majority of the 412 cases were in the age bracket of 20 to 40-years-old.

“This age group of Territorians and visitors are encouraged to please be extra vigilant and extra careful,” he said.

EARLIER: HEALTH Minister Natasha Fyles will update the Territory on the latest Covid numbers this morning.

Ms Fyles is expected to provide the update at 11.30am.

It comes less than 24 hours into the latest snap lockout after 256 cases were detected across the Territory on Thursday.

It was the second day in a row that the daily new cases in the NT had exceeded triple digits, and was double the infection rate from Wednesday.