Nebulisers banned at NT’s Howard Springs quarantine facility after Melbourne Holiday Inn outbreak
The use of nebulisers will be banned in the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs quarantine facility after the medical device was linked as a possible cause behind the outbreak at a Melbourne medi-hotel.
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THE use of nebulisers will be banned in the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs quarantine facility after the medical device was linked as a possible cause behind the outbreak at a Melbourne medi-hotel.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Thursday announced anyone in quarantine at the Howard Springs facility, in either the domestic or international wing, who needs to use a nebuliser will be moved to the Royal Darwin Hospital.
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A nebuliser is a medical device designed to vaporise medicine and deliver a concentrated dose to the user’s lungs. It is commonly used by asthmatics.
Victorian health authorities are investigating if the use of the device by a repatriated Australian in quarantine could be linked to the cluster at the Holiday Inn medi-hotel near Melbourne Airport.
It’s feared nebulisers, which release up to 10,000 more aerosol particles than when humans breathe normally, is giving coronavirus more aerosol droplets to hitch a ride on.
Mr Gunner said there had been no instances of people in quarantine at the Howard Springs facility requiring nebulisers so far.
But erring on the side of caution, NT authorities will require anyone who needs to use the device while in quarantine to move to the Royal Darwin Hospital where they can be isolated in a negative pressured room.
The cluster at Melbourne’s Holiday Inn remains at 8 positive cases and has prompted South Australia to shut its border to greater Melbourne.
Queensland has reinstated its border pass system for arrivals from Victoria, a system the NT has for all arrivals, but has not declared any hot spots.
Northern Territory authorities have not made changes to its hot spot declaration impacting four suburbs and the Holiday Inn medi-hotel in Melbourne.
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Health Minister Natasha Fyles said declaring a single building in Melbourne as a hot spot, when the NT government’s policy has so far been to use the borders of council or suburb areas, was a “unique” situation.
“Previously when we’ve seen a hotspot declared for suburbs in the city, the airport area had remained (open so) that people could transit through that,” she said.
“Clearly if we were to declare the suburb of Tullamarine a hotspot that would create difficulties.”
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