The envy of the nation: Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly praises the NT’s COVID-19 position

AUSTRALIA’S Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says the NT is an ‘enviable position’ in the fight against coronavirus compared with the rest of the country, after recording no new cases in two and a half weeks.

Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says the NT is in an ‘enviable position’ in the fight against coronavirus compared with the rest of the country, after recording no new cases in two and a half weeks. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

AUSTRALIA’S Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says the NT is an “enviable position” in the fight against coronavirus compared with the rest of the country, after recording no new cases in two and a half weeks.

Professor Kelly told the NT News today he commended the Territory for its effective efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 so far. More than half of the NT’s 28 coronavirus patients have recovered from the virus.

“As a jurisdiction, the Territory is in a very enviable position right now,” he said.

“As a former resident myself, I laud the Territory for keeping some of the most vulnerable people in the country – those living in remote communities – completely safe from the virus up until now.”

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It comes as the Federal Government prepared to consider easing strict social distancing measures in three weeks’ time.

Prof Kelly said three benchmarks would need to be achieved first before any restrictions on everyday life can be wound back.

Flattening the curve is the first benchmark that was set by the National Cabinet last week – a sustained, sharp reduction in new cases for four weeks.

“We certainly appear to be flattening that curve very successfully at the moment,” he said. “We are doing well.”

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NT Chief Health Officer Dr Hugh Heggie said the Territory had done a great job to flatten the curve compared with the rest the country.

“The Northern Territory has done well compared with other countries and other states through strong controls especially our borders but we can do more,” he said.

“We are resilient. We need to partner together to practise the principles of social connectedness, but physically distancing 1.5 metres in everything that we do.

“We can work together to allow adjustments to controls to incrementally return to our territory way of life.”

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Prof Kelly spent nine years in the NT working as a principal research fellow at the Menzies School of Health, as well as with the Centre for Disease Control.