$5000 fine for undeclared positive RAT result, NT records 550 new cases

Failure to declare a positive rapid antigen test will result in a $5000 fine as Territory police try to identify cases knowingly in the community.

FAILURE to declare a positive rapid antigen test will result in a $5000 fine.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced that it would become mandatory to report positive RAT results through the NT Covid website.

He said failure to report would be a breach of a chief health officer’s direction which carries a $5000 fine.

“Over the past week, we have been incorporating rapid antigen tests into our daily reporting and decision making.

“We are now confident they can do the job we need them to do at a larger scale.”

Mr Gunner said while the RATs were not as accurate as PCR test, they were better at dealing with the fast moving nature of the Omicron variant and high levels of community transmission now in the Territory.

“And importantly, they’re generally more sensitive, the more symptomatic you are,” Mr Gunner said.

“(With) 100 new cases a day, the margin of error RATs are not a big issue.

“Back in the early days of outbreaks when one or two cases was a difference between staying open or locking down, being 100 per cent sure about case numbers was super, super important.

“Now we are beyond that.”

Mr Gunner said the enforcement of the fines was complicated, given positive cases were responsible for telling their close contacts and RATs were distributed by both businesses, health agencies and the government.

“(If) you’re symptomatic, you’ve taken a bunch of tests, you know you’re positive, you stay home – that’s great.

“If you go out and you pass it on to somebody else or something like that, that’s when it’s going to come to our attention.

“I think we see the natural circumstances that will flow from where we will be aware that you’ve had a positive RAT and haven’t reported it.”

NT Police Acting Commissioner Michael Murphy said there was an obligation to record test results for all interstate arrivals.

“It’s doing the right thing for Territorians. It’s doing the right thing and complying with the CHO direction,” Mr Murphy said.

“The CHO direction is law. You need to comply with it.”

Mr Murphy said contact tracers were continuing to investigate contacts and exposure sites in cases of community transmission.

“We identify people who are positive and having a risk on community (and) haven’t declared it or uploaded the correct information, they’ll be subject to a $5,024 fine.”

Mr Gunner said the Thursday changes would reduce pressure on the PCR system.

“We are making these changes today because we don’t want Territorians to go through what people in elsewhere went through on Christmas and New Year.

“We don’t want you stuck in queues for eight, nine or 10 hours waiting for a test.

“We don’t want you stuck at home for five, six, seven days waiting for a result.”

Positive RAT ‘sufficient’ to diagnose Covid-19, NT records 550 new cases

The NT has scrapped the requirement of a positive PCR test to confirm a Covid-19 case, as the Territory recorded 550 new cases in the latest 24-hour period.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner says a positive RAT result is now ‘sufficient’, bringing the NT’s policy in line with most other Australian jurisdictions.

The total number of people with the virus has now climbed to about 3000.

Of the new cases 214 were reported from rapid antigen tests.

Mr Gunner said the numbers had remained controlled so far but he doubted that the peak had been reached.

“At the moment, all things considered the growth in numbers stay is fairly controlled though it is highly unlikely we have reached our peak,” he said.

“We believe we are catching a large portion of positive cases which is good, but we want to make sure tests are taken quickly.

“What we need right now is speed. If you are positive to Covid you sending the message out to everyone you spent time with is the fastest thing you can do.”

Dr Marco Briceno said it was too early to say the curve had flattened despite case numbers plateauing over the past week.

“Since Christmas we have seen a tenfold increase in cases but we haven’t seen that continuing for the last week,” he said.

“We have plateaued around 500 cases a day so we are not seeing that duplication or even that exponential increase in cases. But it is still too early to say the curve has flattened.”

MORE TO COME.

Originally published as $5000 fine for undeclared positive RAT result, NT records 550 new cases