Michael Gunner reveals 700 public servants stood down for failing to comply with Covid-19 jab mandate
The Chief Minister has revealed how many public servants have been stood down for failing to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.
Northern Territory
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APPROXIMATELY 700 public servants, including more than 100 from the frontline, have been stood down for failing to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Monday provided more details on the process of weeding unvaccinated bureaucrats out of the public service.
The stand-downs come as the deadline imposed by the government on public servants to receive mandatory workplace vaccinations expired last week.
As reported in Monday’s NT News, 97 per cent of public servants have had at least one jab, with 98 per cent of frontline public servants having received one vaccination.
In the key services of law and order, health and education, 14 police officers, 65 nurses and 52 teachers had by Monday refused a Covid vaccination.
Mr Gunner said public servants did not receive a “grace period” after Friday’s deadline and were stood down from that point.
“No grace period,” he said. “Every single unvaccinated public servant was stood down as at 5pm Friday. That HR disciplinary process commenced immediately and under that, the first 48 hours of stand-down is paid before you go to unpaid stand-down.
“No grace period, no exemption to the chief health officer’s directive. Public or private, everybody is treated alike when it comes to the CHO’s directions.”
It comes as Katherine was plunged in to its second lockdown in two weeks after two Aboriginal people who live together returned positive results.
As the mask mandate was lifted for Darwin on Friday evening, Mr Gunner announced that it would continue for Katherine residents until 5pm Monday.
“On Saturday, we only had 26 people tested (at the weekend) which is why we’re doing the mask mandate,” Mr Gunner said. “I haven’t been given a target figure for testing by the chief health officer, but obviously 26 is much too low.”
The Chief Minister reported a leap in vaccination rates following the recent lockdown and lockout. “We’ve had reports anecdotally of a huge spike in vaccinations on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Mr Gunner said.
He said home quarantining was on track to commence on November 22.
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