Lajamanu enters immediate lockdown, Katherine moves to lockout system
Another remote community and surrounding homelands have entered an immediate lockdown on Saturday evening after wastewater testing returned positive results.
Northern Territory
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UPDATE 8.33PM: THE Lajamanu community and surrounding homelands entered an immediate lockdown on Saturday evening after wastewater testing returned positive results.
In an announcement by NT Health on Facebook at 8.30pm Saturday, residents were told they had to wear masks and only leave their homes for one of the five lockdown reasons.
At this stage the lockdown is not expected to lift until 6pm December 11.
The post said schools and early childhood services in Lajamanu and surrounding homelands would be closed.
A Rapid Assessment Team was sent to the region on Saturday night, with testing and vaccinations expected to begin immediately.
Anyone who has been in the Lajamanu community or in the surrounding homelands since November 15 is required to immediately self-isolate, get tested and remain in isolation until they return a negative Covid-19 test.
Lajamanu is near the West Australian border, about nine hours south of Darwin and about six hours southwest of Katherine.
EARLIER UPDATE: One new local case of Covid-19 was recorded overnight, while Katherine entered a lockout from Saturday midday.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles on Saturday said one new local case was recorded overnight, a 50-year-old Katherine man who tested positive while in quarantine at the Centre for National Resilience. He is a close contact and has been in quarantine for his infectious period.
A second case was recorded, a repatriated Australian. They are also in the Centre for National Resilience.
Katherine entered a lockout from 12pm on Saturday, with fully-vaccinated residents able to leave their homes with a mask. Unvaccinated residence must only leave home for essential reasons. The lockout will end on December 7.
Ms Fyles said the wastewater results from the Bicentennial Rd catchment had weakened significantly to a presumptive positive.
EARLIER: HEALTH Minister Natasha Fyles is set to provide a Covid-19 update on Saturday morning.
The current Darwin-Katherine-Robinson River cluster sat at 52 cases on Friday, after no new cases were reported in the Territory.
Acting chief health officer Dr Charles Pain is also expected to attend the update on Saturday.
A decision to lift the lockdown in Katherine was delayed partially due to over 300 tests from Katherine being delayed by a storm.
Dr Pain struck an upbeat tone on Friday, saying Covid-19 fragments in wastewater were being found in the expected catchments in Katherine, while other catchments were testing negative.
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