20,000 Territorians given boost in Covid campaign
Third shot part of Territory’s vaccine mandate, but technical delays impact rollout. ‘We’re not going to be kicking in doors and stuff like that.”
Northern Territory
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UPDATE THURS 1PM: MICHAEL Gunner got his guns out to the flash of cameras showing off his freshly vaccinated arm.
The Chief Minister said he had just joined 20,000 Territorians who had received their booster shots, with a further 50,000 bookings set for January.
“Effectively we’re over the 10 per cent mark already, which is excellent,” Mr Gunner said.
“2021 was very much the year to get vaxed, 2022 will very much be the year of getting boosted.”
Mr Gunner received his third dose shot at the Hibiscus Day and Night Pharmacy, in Leanyer, on Thursday morning.
Owner Marcus Leong said demand for the booster was rising, particularly as the Territory’s borders opened.
He recommended eligible Territorians to make a booking, but added walk-ins would be accepted.
“From next week onwards, we are confident and most people that come to the community pharmacies should be able to get their booster shot,” Mr Leong said.
Unlike the first vaccine rollout, Mr Leong said he was confident the Territory had enough vaccine supplies to meet the booster demand.
But he said the same could not be said for rapid antigen tests, which were flying off the shelves faster than supplies could restock.
Mr Gunner said it was still unknown if boosters would have to become a yearly appointment.
“We should think about the boost for the Covid vaccine like the flu shot,” Mr Gunner said.
”We might need to get a shot every year, we don’t know for sure, but let’s just presume you have to get a shot every year.”
Mr Gunner said the booster shot would fall under the Territory’s vaccine mandate policy, but they were waiting for updates to the Medicare app to allow it to be enforced.
“There’s a little bit about practicality to how you actually can formally know that someone’s had their booster shot, so it’s working on that,” he said.
Mr Gunner said since everyone would become eligible for the booster at different times it would be up to each employer to manage their worker’s vaccine status.
“I think we’ve shown a very practical attitude to how we’re managing that, we’re not going to be kicking in doors and stuff like that.”
Mr Gunner said the vaccination drive was not yet done, with many Territorians still yet to get their first and second shots.
“We’ve got 25,000 Territorian kids who become eligible for the vaccine from January 10,” he said.
”We know children can catch it and spread it and while they don’t get as sick as older Territorians they do get sick.”
Mr Gunner’s booster shot comes before the latest National Cabinet meeting, with PCR testing and interstate travel likely to be on the agenda.
Despite PCR wait times blowing out in other states, Mr Gunner stood firm on the negative test mandate for travellers into the NT.
“There’s no pressure on the Territory to walk away from the PCR as a pre arrival test,” he said.
“We still see a PCR test prior to arrival as important to helping reduce the risk of incursion.
”We’re monitoring that because we know with Covid things can change quickly, so there may be a need for us at some stage to change our pre arrival test.”
Mr Gunner said this policy meant health authorities could “know early and act quickly”.
He said while PCR test would remain available to those who needed them, RAT kits would increasingly become part of each household’s Covid response as a “screening tool”.
UPDATE THURS 11AM: HOLIDAY plans have been put on hold for many with Kingpin Darwin shutting its lanes due to a Covid close contact.
The facility remains open but is currently only running the arcade zone with both the bowling and lazer tag closed.
Kingpin confirmed the temporary closure of those areas is due to a Covid close contact but could not disclose whether the close contact was a member of staff or a patron.
Unfortunately we have had to make a couple of last minute changes in venue,” a post on the Kingpin Facebook page read.
“We don’t expect this to last very long, but in the meantime, come check out our new machines and beat those high scores.”
UPDATE WED 12.20PM: AUTHORITIES are working to identify how a nine-year-old Darwin girl contracted Covid-19, with a further two cases under investigation
Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the NT recorded 19 cases in the last 24-hours.
Three cases are linked to the remote cluster and are from Tennant Creek. They are in quarantine in Alice Springs and are considered low risk.
There were three cases from interstate arrivals. Eight cases from close contacts of interstate arrivals tested positive.
There were two cases of international arrivals, both flight crew. One is in quarantine in the NT and the other has returned to New South Wales.
Three cases are still under investigation. Two are household contacts of an interstate traveller who at this stage does not have Covid.
Authorities are investigating how a nine-year-old girl in Darwin contracted Covid. She has 18 close contacts with further contact tracing underway.
Ms Fyles said the Tennant Creek lockout would lift at 5pm Wednesday.
The mask mandate for the Barkly region will also lift at 5pm.
WED 8AM: ALL residents and visitors to the Gove Peninsula have been advised to get tested after a positive Covid wastewater test in Nhulunbuy.
Secure NT urged everyone in the region, which includes Nhulunbuy, and the communities of Yirrkala and Gunyangara to get tested for Covid-19, even if they do not feel unwell.
Secure NT thanked everyone who have already been tested.
Nhulunbuy residents can access testing from 9am-4.30pm at the Gove Peninsula Pandemic Clinic, at the hospital grounds next to the Flinders University, or the walk in clinic at the Uniting Church on Franklyn St.
Miwatj Health will be offering testing for community residents in Yirrkala and Gunyangara over the coming days at their houses or at other places in these communities.
Further information will be provided over the community loud speakers.
Secure NT said when people arrived for their test it was important to tell staff if they had any symptoms including a cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches, changes in taste or smell.
Patients should also flag if they had recently returned from interstate, been to an exposure site or have been asked get tested because they were a close contact of a positive case elsewhere.
UPDATE TUES 6.30AM: THERE are new public exposure sites in Darwin after a woman on Monday tested positive to Covid-19 in the capital.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced the new exposure sites, including one Close Contact site, in a Facebook post late Monday night.
Anyone who attended the Bamboo Lounge Restaurant in Stuart Park on December 21 from 7.20-9.20pm is considered a close contact and must:
- Immediately travel by private transport directly to your home or suitable accommodation and self-quarantine.
- Call the Covid-19 hotline on 1800 490 484 and identify yourself as a close contact. Visit https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au for more information.
There have also been new Low Risk Contact sites identified. Anyone who visited a Low Risk Contact site at the relevant dates and times must do the following:
- Monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 14 days
- If you experience any symptoms:
- self-quarantine at your home or suitable place of accommodation
- get tested for Covid-19 and self-quarantine at home until you return a negative result.
Opposition Health spokesman Bill Yan said it was concerning the government was not holding daily health briefings, given the increase in cases, travel changes, and testing delays.
“I think everyone deserves a bit of a break from Covid over Christmas, but sadly Covid is here,” Mr Yan said.
“People are worried about it and they want to know what’s going on so they can make their plans and keep themselves and their families safe.”
Mr Yan said Alice Springs residents were waiting more than 80 hours to get results
back, while Barkly residents had reported a five-day delay.
Mr Yan called the government’s pandemic planning “a dog’s breakfast”.
“We’ve been speaking about this for months and months, is the hospital ready to deal with a Covid outbreak, particularly now that we have health staff infected,” he said.
Mr Yan said it was unknown how many health workers were taken off roster after a doctor tested positive.
UPDATE MON 4PM: HEALTH authorities are racing to determine how a Darwin woman came into contact with Covid.
NT Health have identified the latest mystery case of Covid as a woman in her 60s from Darwin.
A health spokeswoman said contact tracers were interviewing the woman to determine the source of her infection and pinpoint any close contacts or exposure sites.
The government’s coronavirus website has not identified any new exposure sites since December 18, despite 53 confirmed cases since Friday, Christmas Eve.
Five flights are being tracked with passengers identified as low risk contacts after flying with a Covid-positive case.
The flights include:
December 22: Flight QF840, Qantas Sydney to Darwin
December 22: Flight JQ693, Jetstar Adelaide to Darwin
December 21: Flight JQ672, Jetstar Sydney to Darwin
December 21: Flight QF840, Qantas Sydney to Darwin
December 20: Flight QF1, Qantas Sydney to Darwin
UPDATE MON 2.30PM: TWELVE new cases of Covid-19 were recorded overnight, including one in Darwin with the source of infection under investigation.
Two cases are linked to the NT outbreak, bringing the total case count for the cluster to 146. The cases are household contacts of previous Tennant Creek cases and are in quarantine.
The other 10 cases are:
Aclose contact of the workers from Yulara. They were not infectious in the community and are in Howard Springs.
Five cases are interstate travellers, either isolated at home or in Howard Springs.
Three cases are close contacts of interstate arrivals.
One case in Darwin, with the source of infection under investigation.
There are 15 people with Covid in hospital, including one in ICU.
UPDATE: AUTHORITIES are on high alert over positive wastewater readings in the Nhulunbuy community as the Territory recorded 12 new Covid-19 cases, including four linked to the current outbreak.
Two of the new cases linked to the cluster are household contacts of cases in the Tennant Creek area. They were not infectious while in the community.
The other two cases were detected in Katherine and are likely linked to previous cases in the area.
Separately, two new cases were locally acquired in household contacts of a traveller from interstate, and a further six cases were recorded in interstate arrivals.
There is now a total of 144 cases linked to the ongoing outbreak.
It comes as Sydney’s St Vincent Hospital revealed its pathology service wrongly messaged 400 people telling them they had tested negative to Covid-19 when they had in fact tested positive. Two flights from Sydney, one Qantas and one Jetstar, landed in Darwin on Saturday night.
In a statement, Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s office said there were currently 18 patients in hospital with the virus, including one in ICU.
“The majority of admissions are for the purposes of infection control and assessment,” the statement read.
“1,499 Covid-19 tests were processed across the NT (on Saturday).”
Tennant Creek remains in a lockout after transitioning from a lockdown on Wednesday evening.
A mask mandate is in place for the Barkly local government area and Ali Curung and surrounding homelands until 5pm Wednesday, December 29, 2021.
Meanwhile, bookings are now online for children aged 5-11 to get vaccinated in the Territory.
The paediatric Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine will be available for children in the Northern Territory from Monday January 10, 2022.
“Territorians have overwhelmingly rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated and now is the opportunity for parents to get their kids vaccinated to ensure they have the best possible protection,” Health Minister Natasha Fyles said.
To be fully vaccinated, children aged 5-11 years will receive two doses, eight weeks apart. The dose is one third of the amount compared to the vaccine for people aged 12 and over. All Territorians, including children, can get the vaccine at NT Health vaccination centres, participating GP clinics, respiratory clinics, pharmacies and Aboriginal health clinics.
Parents and legal guardians will be required to consent to their child being vaccinated.
EARLIER: A HEALTH worker has tested positive for Covid-19 as the Territory’s cluster grows by a further 19 patients.
The NT Government has confirmed a staff member from the Royal Darwin Hospital has tested positive.
The health worker who was in the community during their infectious period.
A Covid-19 Hospital Outbreak Plan was immediately activated and close contacts have been notified and are isolating.
The staff member is triple vaccinated, asymptomatic and followed all appropriate mask protocols.
It comes as 19 new cases were detected, including eight connected to the Tennant Creek cluster.
This brings the total active number of cases to 121.
Interstate arrivals made up ten new positive cases.
All were in isolation at home or at the Centre for National Resilience.
The 19th case is in a household contact of a recent arrival from South Australia.
The household contact is in quarantine.
There are currently 19 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including one in intensive case unit.
On Thursday, Health Minister Natasha Fyles said an unvaccinated woman in her 60s was in the “fight of her life” after suffering from severe symptoms of Covid-19.
There are eight cases that are currently being assessed at the Tennant Creek Hospital.
The NT Government advised residents to check for any new public exposure sites.
It comes as 1903 Covid tests were processed across the Territory on Christmas Eve.
Children will soon be able to roll up their sleeves to get their Covid vaccine, with paediatric Pfizer bookings to open on Sunday.
Ms Fyles said children aged five to 11 would be able to get their first dose from Monday January 10.
The children’s dose is a third of the amount given to those aged 12 and over.
To be fully vaccinated, children aged five to 11 years will receive two doses, eight weeks apart.
““The Northern Territory was the first to roll out the vaccine to kids aged 12 and above and now we are broadening the rollout to everyone aged five and above,” Ms Fyles said.
“The vaccine is safe, free, effective and the best public health measure to protect Territorians.”
Parents and legal guardians will be required to consent to their child being vaccinated.
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