Congress, AMSANT and NLC calling for immediate Covid restrictions in NT

Aboriginal leaders have called on NT government to immediately introduce a raft of new public health measures as Omicron cases grow.

UPDATE, DECEMBER 30 5.30PM: ABORIGINAL leaders have called for immediate changes to Covid restrictions as Omicron cases continue to grow in the Territory.

The Northern Land Council (NLC) has backed leading health organisations, including Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress’s calls for better surveillance programs and a Territory-wide mask mandate.

NLC chairman Samuel Bush-Blanasi said continued PCR testing and mandatory mask wearing out bush, and for all interstate arrivals.

“We cannot be guided by what the federal government or other states and territories are doing, we have to act to protect Territorians at all costs and based upon what is best to us all.”

“Over the next few weeks all Territorians will be watching closely to see if the trust and faith they have placed in the NT government so far will continue or will just fade away.”

The mounting pressure comes as Aboriginal leaders continue to advocate for remote communities, who face increased risk of death due to complex health and reduced access to testing.

“The best thing our mob can do is to get vaccinated, including getting a third shot when they can and to stay safe, stay on country and care for family,” Mr Bush-Blanasi said.

“We might have to learn to ‘live with Covid’ but we don’t want to die from it.”

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress chief medical officer John Boffa said it was important to consider the rate of infections in the Territory, which is currently recording about 15-20 cases per day.

“Twenty cases in a population of 220,000 is exactly the same as when New South Wales had 740 cases per day,” he said.

“I want people to cast their mind back to how quickly NSW went from 150 cases a day … up to now 12,000 cases. It happened within a matter of weeks. There’s an explosion.

“The Territory still has a chance to control this outbreak and stop that explosion so we control the spread of Omicron.”

The calls come days after the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) boss John Paterson wrote to the Acting Chief Minister asking the government to immediately introduce a mask mandate in indoor public settings to manage the risk of Omicron.

Despite the government announcing a further 37 positive cases on Thursday, they have dismissed any need to introduce additional measures.

Minister for Health, Natasha Fyles, said there were a number of cases being investigated. “We have a number of systems we can enact if we require, but we aren’t there yet.”

DECEMBER 30, 2021: THE Territory’s largest Aboriginal health service says the NT government must immediately introduce new restrictions across NT to control the spread of the Omicron variant and avoid facing the same predicament as NSW.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress chief medical officer John Boffa said it was not a matter of if, but rather when the NT government would introduce more public health measures.

Dr Boffa said it was important to consider the rate of infections in the Territory, which is currently recording about 15-20 cases per day.

“Twenty cases in a population of 220,000 is exactly the same as when New South Wales had 740 cases per day,” he said, speaking to ABC Radio.

“I want people to cast their mind back to how quickly NSW went from 150 cases a day … up to now 12,000 cases. It happened within a matter of weeks. There’s an explosion.

“The Territory still has a chance to control this outbreak and stop that explosion so we control the spread of Omicron.”

Dr Boffa said it was a “furphy” that authorities don’t need to worry as much about Omicron because people are experiencing milder symptoms.

Dr John Boffa has repeated calls for a Territory-wide vaccine passport. Picture: ANDREA JOHNSTON

“Denmark’s got a higher vaccination rate than Australia, 42 per cent of the population have had boosters. Their hospitalisation rate has now soared,” he said.

“They’re seeing (what would be) the equivalent in Australia of about 100 deaths a day. “They’re a couple of weeks ahead of us in this Omicron outbreak.

Dr Boffa said Omicron was a “real concern” for people who are unvaccinated and warned the Territory’s hospital system will soon be overwhelmed if no action is taken.

He said the best measure to slow the spread was a mask mandate when indoors and at large outdoor gatherings.

Dr Boffa repeated calls for a vaccine passport, whereby Territorians would be required to show proof of vaccination to enter public venues such as clubs, bars and restaurants.

“We should look at NSW and say sh*t, we don’t want to do that,” he said.

He accused the NT government of not listing all public exposure sites, including ones in Alice Springs. It comes days after the government denied Congress’ claims there had been two Covid-19 cases detected in Alice Springs.

In recent days, Alice Springs residents have reported receiving text messages from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) notifying them they have visited low-risk exposure sites. However the NT government has not listed any new exposure sites for Alice Springs in over a week.

“Why would people wear masks if they don’t realise that the supermarkets are constantly exposure sites?” Dr Boffa said.

“People have to be aware that the virus is in Alice Springs and it’s in some places more often than it’s in others places.

“If people don’t (use) QR codes, they have no idea that they’ve been to a place where someone was positive unless we’re listing public exposure sites. I think there’s agreement now that we should list public exposure sites. I think within a few days we’ll see that happening.”

The calls come days after the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) boss John Paterson wrote to the Acting Chief Minister asking the government to immediately introduce a mask mandate in indoor public settings to manage the risk of Omicron.

Originally published as Congress, AMSANT and NLC calling for immediate Covid restrictions in NT