New NT COVID-19 case in traveller who visited Melbourne hotspot
A traveller who visited a Melbourne hotspot has become the first new coronavirus case in the NT since April.
The Northern Territory is no longer coronavirus free after a returning traveller who had recently visited one of Melbourne’s COVID-19 hotspots was found to be infected.
The new case, the first locally diagnosed one since April, means the Top End jurisdiction reverses its success in eradicating the deadly disease.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles said that would not alter her government’s plans to lift border restrictions on 17 July. She said the man in his 30s was a Darwin resident who had been on an international trip.
“They undertook quarantine in Melbourne,” she said. “They then did have a couple of days, and they were staying with family in one of the hotspot locations in Melbourne.”
The man flew to Darwin via Brisbane, arriving on Monday, after which he started to feel unwell. His positive diagnosis for COVID-19 was returned on Wednesday night.
NT Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie said there was minimal risk to the community.
“The person is well, mild disease, in hospital and the contacts are being currently tracked and traced as per a normal public health response,” he said.
The Territory has so far conducted over 13,300 coronavirus tests, and 30 COVID-19 patients have had the disease and recovered. There has been no evidence of community spread.
The government’s plan to lift border restrictions from July 17 has raised fears that all the good work could be undone.
Ms Fyles called suggestions the Territory should ban all travellers from Victoria, as some states have done, a “very simplistic response”.
“That’s a very simplistic response,” she said. “You may see outbreaks in a state that geographically are a long way from another location where someone may need to travel.
“We certainly want territories to think about their travel. It’s not, ‘Great! Let’s jump on the plane and go away for the weekend.’ It needs to be important travel.”
Dr Heggie said the risk of catching coronavirus on a plane was relatively low and that people were at far greater threat in family settings.
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