Small businesses in lockdown to receive $1000 payment as one new case reported in NT

Struggling small businesses in Tennant hit by the latest lockdown will receive extra support payments, the Sunday Territorian can reveal.

SHUTTERED small businesses in Tennant Creek will receive a slight reprieve over Christmas after the NT government confirmed lockdown support payments would be made available for the Barkly town.

There was one new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 reported in the Territory on Saturday, a close contact of the Katherine cluster who was isolating in the Howard Springs quarantine facility for their entire infectious period.

The new local case brings the total number of infections associated with the Katherine cluster to 101.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said two of the four cases found in Tennant Creek on Friday had been admitted to Alice Springs Hospital, one of which was requiring intensive care.

Tennant Creek was thrown into lockdown on Friday and the surrounding Barkly region has been hit with a mask mandate.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said 80 vaccines were administered in Tennant on Friday. (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)

Ms Fyles said 380 tests had been conducted in Tennant Creek since lockdown began, with health teams going door to door in Wuppa Camp.

She also announced that the government would relax the quarantine time for close contacts of confirmed positive case down from 14 days.

“If you’re fully vaccinated and you become a close contact, you only have to isolate for seven days,” Ms Fyles said.

Two further cases were detected in the central Australian town of Yulara on Friday. Both cases were believed to be close contacts of a case in Queensland and were being treated as low risk.

In reaction to the new restrictions in Tennant Creek, the Sunday Territorian can reveal small businesses in the lockdown zone will be able to receive one-off $1000 payments if they’ve suffered a 50 per cent drop in business.

To be eligible, the business must have a turnover of between $75,000 to $10m and less than 20 full-time-equivalent staff.

Small Business Minister Paul Kirby said applications for the new payments would close December 24. Picture Julianne Osborne

Applications for the grant close on Christmas Eve, Friday December 24.

Small Business Minister Paul Kirby said the government had provided $5m in lockdown payments so far in the pandemic.

“In every Territory lockdown, we’ve acted quickly to get immediate help out the door and support our businesses,” Mr Kirby said.

“These payments will provide immediate support to businesses where it’s needed the most.”

It is not yet clear whether expanded weekly government payments of between $1000 and $4000 a week, separate from the Small Business Support Payments, will cover the Tennant Creek region.

The government in November announced 130 businesses in Katherine would be eligible for enhanced weekly payments, and the new scheme would be used for future lockdowns.

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