NT Health finally answers Howard Springs COVID case timeline questions, says new infection wasn’t contracted in quarantine

NT Health has provided an updated response after complaining when the NT News published its first reply to a series of questions regarding the timeline of a woman who tested positive to COVID-19 at Howard Springs

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UPDATE:

NT Health has provided an updated response after complaining when the NT News published its first reply to a series of questions regarding the timeline of a woman who tested positive to COVID-19 at Howard Springs.

The woman tested positive during her exit screening at the quarantine facility after arriving in Darwin on a repatriation flight on November 24.

The department complained about an earlier version of this story which outlined the exact questions the NT News asked it, and then published the department’s complete reply verbatim.

A spokeswoman from NT Health said the woman “did not contract the virus at the Howard Springs Centre for National Resilience” and that it was “likely the woman contracted the virus before travelling to Australia”.

The full text of the updated NT Health response is at the bottom of this page.

EARLIER:

THE NT government’s COVID media team has refused to directly answer questions as to if a solo traveller may have tested positive to coronavirus more than 14 days after arriving on a repatriation flight from Delhi.

It comes after a woman, 30, tested positive to coronavirus in Howard Springs during her exit screening.

However, despite repeated questions, it is not clear how the woman contracted the virus, given her results could have seemingly come back up to 16 or 17 days after her arrival at Howard Springs.

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It is unclear exactly when the recommended 14 days’ isolation period begins and ends when applied in the case of quarantine by NT Health.

In an email sent to the health team and asking for clarification, the NT News requested the department respond to the following questions, including whether the woman could possibly have contracted coronavirus on the repatriation flight or locally within the Howard Springs quarantine facility.

Secure NT advised on December 10 that a new positive case of COVID-19 had been recorded in the Northern Territory in the past 48 hours.

It advised that a 30-year-old female, who arrived on the repatriation flight from New Delhi on 24 November, 2020 had tested positive.

If the new case tested positive 48 hours (December 8) before the Secure NT announcement, then the woman could have tested positive 15 days (inclusive) after arriving in Australia.

If the case tested positive within 24 hours (December 9) before the Secure NT announcement, then the woman could have tested positive 16 days (inclusive) after arriving in Australia.

If these facts are correct, it would seem to indicate one of two possibilities:

1. The new case contracted COVID-19 in the Howard Springs facility.

NT Health has advised she was travelling alone (ie not part of a family unit) so how is this possible in quarantine? If this is the case, does that mean community transmission has taken place in the facility?

or

2. The new case contracted COVID-19 on the repatriation flight. Or she already had it before she left India.

If either of these possibilities are true, then indications are that the new case could have tested positive either (at least) 16 days (inclusive) or 17 days (inclusive) after first being exposed to the infection.

NT Health’s subsequent contract tracing, after realising that the woman had tested positive will, no doubt have worked out which of these options is true by now.

QUESTIONS:

1. Is it the case that all other passengers on the November 24 repatriation flight (other than those that have tested positive to COVID-19 since its arrival) have now been released from quarantine since the flight arrived 18 days (inclusive) ago now?

2. If Possibility 1 is true, then can you confirm that community transmission has now taken place in the Howard Springs quarantine facility, and therefore in the Northern Territory?

3. If Possibility 2 is true, then can you confirm that the new case tested positive to COVID-19 more than 14 days (the accepted quarantine period of time) after first being exposed to the infection?

4. If the answer to Q3 is yes, and if all other passengers from the November 24 repatriation flight have now left Howard Springs and re-entered the community after serving the requisite amount of time in quarantine, then what guarantee is there that one of that group won’t also now test positive to COVID-19 more than 14 days after first being exposed to the infection?

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NT Health responded with the following:

COVID-19 has an incubation period of 4.9 to 7 days, with a range of 1 – 14 days. Most people who are infected will develop symptoms within 14 days of infection.

The individual tested positive so remains in isolation.

The individual was tested within the normal time period of 72 hours prior to exit date and was tested a second time to verify results. All protocols were followed while awaiting the test results.

Passengers who arrived on the November 24 repatriation flight who have completed their quarantine and returned a negative test in the 72 hours prior to the exit date have exited.

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The full text of the updated NT Health response is as follows:

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