13,000 recent arrivals to the NT ordered into self-isolation after government declares Greater Melbourne, Bendigo as hotspots

Thousands of people in the Territory have been ordered into self-isolation after recently arriving from Victoria as the troubled state plunges into its fourth lockdown.

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THOUSANDS of people in the Territory have been ordered into self-isolation after recently arriving from Victoria as the troubled state plunges into its fourth lockdown.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles has urged anyone who has travelled to the NT from Greater Melbourne and Bendigo since May 12 to immediately self-isolate and get a Covid-19 test.

Around 13,000 people have been identified by NT Health authorities as having come to the NT from Victoria during that time frame.

The Territory’s dedicated Covid-19 hotlines were swamped with hundreds of calls on Thursday as people scrambled to get tested.

It comes after Victoria entered a seven-day lockdown today after the state’s Covid-19 case tally grew to 26.

The outbreak pushed the NT to slam its border shut to Greater Melbourne and Bendigo from 12.05am on Thursday.

About 100 passengers who flew into Darwin from Melbourne early on Thursday morning were forced into mandatory quarantine at the Howard Springs facility.

Staff wait for passengers from a Melbourne flight at Darwin Airport. Picture: Che Chorley

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While only 38 travellers opted to board a flight that arrived from Melbourne later that same day.

Minister Fyles said while she understood how inconvenient travel restrictions could be, especially during the NT’s peak tourism season, they were decisions that had to be made to ensure the safety of Territorians.

“A hot spot can be declared at any point; it’s based on evidence, not on flight schedules,” she said.

“It is unfortunate when people are in the air; we do reach out as soon as the declaration is made to the airlines.

“We appreciated their efforts, but unfortunately, this is domestic travel.”

Ms Fyles said about 900 of the 3500 beds available at the Howard Springs quarantine facility were occupied on Thursday.

Passengers from a Melbourne flight arrive at Darwin Airport. Picture: Che Chorley

“Presently, we have 900 approximately international repatriations, 700 of those are vulnerable Australians that come off those DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) flights, and 200 are people that come in to Darwin on commercial flights that might work on oil and gas rigs off the coast,” she said.

“We have the ability to take that quarantining up to 2000, and then we have around 800 people that we could quarantine domestically if we were to need those types of numbers.”

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