NT expected to declare most of Victoria a hotspot amid rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak

ALL or nearly all of Victoria is expected to be barred from free entry to the NT from July 17, as Territory authorities stand ready to declare most of the state diseased amid a rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak.

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ALL or nearly all of Victoria is expected to be barred from free entry to the NT from July 17, as Territory authorities stand ready to declare most of the state diseased amid a rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak.

From July 17, only people who come from or who have been in coronavirus hotspots will be forced into 14 days of quarantine if they travel into the NT.

All of greater Melbourne is considered a hotspot by NT authorities currently, though that is expected to change.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles yesterday signalled the situation in Victoria was “evolving quite quickly” and NT authorities, with more than a week of leeway before border measures ease, would enact harsher measures should the health advice call for it.

At the moment all arrivals into the NT must self-quarantine for 14 days regardless of where they are from.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles. Picture: Glenn Campbell

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The NT Government is under increasing pressure, particularly from Indigenous bodies like Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) to keep the border with Victoria shut after July 17.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire, north of the city, would be put into stage 3 lockdown measures for six weeks starting midnight after Victoria recorded 191 new coronavirus cases yesterday, including 154 from unknown sources. AMSANT chief executive John Paterson called on the Chief Minister to urgently keep the border shut to Victoria after July 17 and bring back mandatory quarantine immediately or risk the “catastrophic impacts” of an outbreak in the NT should one infected person come in and act irresponsibly.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announces a six-week lockdown of metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire due to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

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The CLP and Territory Alliance, of which the former wanted borders opened much earlier and the latter wanted travel bubbles with safe states, have hardened their stance.

CLP’s Fannie Bay candidate Tracey Hayes called on the government to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every arrival into the NT, while Territory Alliance Leader Terry Mills said the NT should stay shut to Victorians.

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