The NT reaches one year since its first COVID case, with no community transmission or deaths recorded

THE NT has gone one year of living with COVID-19 without any community spread or deaths from the virus, with today marking exactly 12 months since the Territory’s first case was detected.

THE Northern Territory has gone one year of living with COVID-19 without any community spread or deaths from the virus, with today marking exactly 12 months since the Territory’s first case was detected.

On March 4, 2020, a 52-year-old tourist who had recently arrived in Darwin from Sydney became the first person in the NT to test positive to the then little-known virus, sparking concerns that the Territory could experience an outbreak.

It came a little less than a month after more than 200 Australians evacuated from the COVID-19 epicentre of Wuhan, China arrived at the former Inpex workers’ village in Howard Springs to quarantine, followed by 180 passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship a few weeks later.

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Over the past year, the NT has recorded 106 positive cases of COVID-19.

As of today, 104 of those cases have recovered, while two remain active.

And despite previous warnings that the NT should expect to see community transmission at some point, the Territory has so far never had any cases of community spread.

It is one of the only jurisdictions in Australia to have avoided community transmission of COVID-19, along with the ACT.

There have also been no deaths from the virus in the Territory.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the NT had “led the country” in responding to the coronavirus crisis “from the start”.

She said the NT’s lack of community transmission was not merely a stroke of luck.

“I attribute this to the excellent care of our health staff, and to Territorians,” she said.

“Make no mistake – this was not luck.

“Everyone has worked incredibly hard to keep our community safe.”

Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie said there had been a “range of factors” that had contributed to the NT government’s success in protecting Territorians from the COVID-19 pandemic, including our climate and sparse population.

And he warned that the risk of the virus entering the NT community wasn’t necessarily over yet.

“We haven’t needed to reach our full level of preparedness yet, but the risk is still very real,” he said.

“I remain extremely anxious because the risk of an outbreak is still extremely real, especially as these new variants are extremely infectious.”

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As the pandemic enters a new phase in the Territory with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Ms Fyles urged Territorians to get the jab – but also to stay vigilant.

“We cannot afford to be complacent,” she said.

Mr Heggie reminded people to continue to follow the simple health guidelines put in place at the start of the pandemic, including social distancing, frequent hand washing and staying home if sick.