No new cases overnight, contact tracers work to find 180 Buff Club contacts

Chief Minister Michael Gunner says there have been no new Covid cases recorded in the NT overnight. But another new batch of test results is expected this morning as authorities work to contact 180 people deemed close contacts of a new case.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said more than 100 of the 180 Buff Club contacts have been contacts by health authorities. Picture: Glenn Campbell

CONTACT tracers are working to contact 180 people who were at the Buff Club on Friday night while a Covid-19 infected person was at the venue.

As of this morning, since the press conference yesterday afternoon, there were no new positive cases, but said a set of test results was expected this morning.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said health staff had early Monday evening contacted 62 people who were at the Buff Club but believed contact tracers had now reached more than 100 people as of this morning.

He said the seven close contacts of the man were at Howard Springs as was the wife and daughter of the Palmerston man case.

Both infected men were returned miners from the Tanami gold mine.

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Mr Gunner said while it was good news there was no positive case overnight he stressed positive readings to the virus was more likely to show up on day seven of day 10 of testing.

“We know the Delta Variant is very contagious but if we’ve gone around this the right way we’ve caught it early,” he said.

He said Alice Springs residents were not required to be placed under lockdown as he believed the situation was under control.

“Everyone in Alice Springs that we are aware of is isolating and testing,” he said.

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