Woman tests positive to highly infectious UK COVID strain in Howard Springs quarantine facility

A REPATRIATED woman who tested positive to COVID-19 earlier this month has been found to have the new UK strain

A REPATRIATED woman who tested positive to COVID-19 earlier this month has been found to have the new UK strain.

The woman, a 26-year-old who arrived on a repatriation flight from London on December 30, tested positive on December 31.

This is the first time this strain has been detected in Northern Territory quarantine facilities.

There is no risk to the general community.

The woman remains in the care of the health authorities at the NT Centre for National Resilience at Howard Springs.

There are so far no other positive cases from the same flight.

Passengers and air crew from the flight have been tested twice and will be re-tested again today as an extra precaution.

All passengers from the flight remain at Howard Springs.

All genomic testing is completed interstate and results confirming the new, more infectious strain of COVID-19 were returned from the lab yesterday.

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National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre executive director Len Notaras will do a press conference at 1.30pm today to provide more information.

The woman has been in isolation since arriving in Australia.

She is in the international arrivals section of the Howard Springs quarantine facility which is managed by AUSMAT teams.

AUSMAT staff undertake daily coronavirus tests.

It was previously reported that the woman tested positive on January 2, however health officials now say she tested positive on New Year’s Eve.

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