Health Minister Natasha Fyles reveals further details about NT govt’s home quarantine trial

Further details – including the location of participants – have emerged about the NT government’s tight-lipped home quarantine trial which began in the Northern Territory last week.

UPDATE: FURTHER details have emerged about the NT government’s tight-lipped home quarantine trial which began in the Northern Territory last week.

At a press conference on Thursday, Health Minister Natasha Fyles revealed that out of approximately 40 people who are currently taking part in the trial, almost all were in Darwin

It comes after a week of dodging basic questions about the trial, which will be used to make decisions about home quarantine going forward.

When asked how many people were currently in home quarantine in Alice Springs, Ms Fyles initially responded that there were “a couple”.

“I understand that the home quarantine pilot has begun in Alice Springs, I think it’s just a couple of people that have been able to exit the Todd facility and go into home quarantine,” she said.

Asked a second time, Ms Fyles said she believed it was “less than five” people who were taking part.

“But over the next few weeks we expect those numbers to build and we’ll then be able to roll out home quarantine more broadly,” Ms Fyles continued.

“It’s important that we test a number of mechanisms with home quarantine, how the technology works but also the testing regime and making it as easy as possible for people in home quarantine to be tested.”

If the trial is successful, Territorians living in areas with double vaccination rates over 80 per cent will be allowed to do home quarantine from November 23.

EARLIER: CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner has revealed 40-50 people are currently participating in the NT’s home quarantine trial after weeks of obfuscation around basic questions about the trial.

The success of the trial will determine if double-vaccinated people arriving from red zones can home quarantine from November 23.

Speaking to ABC Darwin on Wednesday morning, Mr Gunner initially said he didn’t know how many people were taking part in the trial program, saying he hadn’t “been asking about the numbers” and was instead focusing on testing.

But when quizzed a second time, Mr Gunner recalled the last figure he had been provided on the size of the quarantine program.

“It’s somewhere in the mid-forties,” he said.

“It also changes every day – the numbers – so it fluctuates.

“I need to have confidence in those numbers in there … And I’ve got that confidence.”

Mr Gunner said the trial had so far been successful.

“At the moment I’ve had no negative feedback,” he said.

“I’ve got a formal (meeting) this afternoon, I’ll get more feedback there but my main questions are going to the practical side.”

CLP health spokesman Bill Yan earlier criticised the government for the lack of transparency around the trial.

“How can Territorians have any confidence that the Gunner Government isn’t developing policy on the run if it keeps simple things – like how many people are taking part in the trial – hidden?” he said

“Territorians want certainty about the road map to safely open the Territory and they’re not getting that with a secret home quarantine trial.”

EARLIER: THE Chief Minister’s office is refusing to provide further information on the progress of the Territory’s first home quarantine pilot.

The NT News has on multiple occasions requested information on the number of people who have so far entered the home quarantine trial, which suburb they are located in and whether they spent part of their fortnight in Howard Springs.

Details of how the pilot is proceeding and whether it is finding people to partake should be divulged in the public interest.

However, Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s office has repeatedly denied these requests.

The government did go so far to confirm on Friday that some participants had been taken from supervised quarantine facilities such as Howard Springs.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner has refused to answer any questions over the home quarantine pilot. Picture: Che Chorley

Mr Gunner said on Wednesday that: “We will provide an update on the program at the end of November.”

Further correspondence on Friday suggested the Chief Minister has not reconsidered that position.

CLP health spokesman Bill Yan said the lack of transparency was concerning.

“How can Territorians have any confidence that the Gunner Government isn’t developing policy on the run if it keeps simple things – like how many people are taking part in the trial – hidden?”

“Territorians want certainty about the road map to safely open the Territory and they’re not getting that with a secret home quarantine trial.”

It follows a humiliating backflip from the Chief Minister’s office over transportation of home quarantine participants, suggesting details of the pilot were yet to be ironed out when it was announced on Monday.

On Tuesday, the Chief Minister’s office said arrivals could use Uber to get to their homes in Darwin, before then saying on Wednesday that they had to use a “Covid taxi”.

If the trial is successful, Territorians living in areas with double vaccination rates over 80 per cent will be allowed to do home quarantine from November 23.

To qualify, they must quarantine at a premises with 4G mobile reception.

They would be required to get tested for Covid-19 72 hours before arriving in the NT and then six times while isolating at home.