NT Covid: Wastewater testing could trigger lockdowns

Wastewater testing could be an early trigger for localised lockdowns as tracers race to contain cluster.

WASTEWATER testing could be an early trigger for localised lockdowns as contact tracers race to contain the latest Katherine Covid outbreak.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced on Tuesday there would be daily wastewater testing at Borroloola, Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and Darwin.

“I’ll provide a warning today, a positive wastewater results in one of these locations may be enough to trigger a lockdown or lockout decision,” Mr Gunner said.

He said while some of the wastewater sites were already doing daily tests, others previously were only conducting weekly tests.

Mr Gunner said the stepped up testing was due to a concern the highly-infectious virus could have already seeded within remote communities.

Mr Gunner said this sewage testing would work in tandem with Covid swabs.

“It’d be extremely helpful for us if there are high testing results in those places where we’re doing that daily wastewater testing so we could consider of both those results together,” he said.

A positive wastewater result does not necessarily mean a new Covid case has been confirmed in the area.

The Northern Territory Government said previously that a positive wastewater test could be triggered by a person who previously had the virus but were no longer infectious or a Covid case who has already left the area.

“People who have recently recovered from COVID-19 can sometimes continue to shed virus fragments into the sewerage system for several weeks even after they are no longer infectious,” it said.

The Government said the daily sewage tests would not be tested locally, instead sent to a South Australian testing facility.

The increased testing systems comes as the entire state is plunged into a heightened Covid restrictions, with mask mandates now in place across the territory.

The Greater Katherine lockdown will be extended until next Monday 6pm after 11 cases confirmed as part of the new cluster.

Originally published as NT Covid: Wastewater testing could trigger lockdowns