Darwin goes into snap lockdown after Northern Territory records five sudden cases

Darwin will go into a snap lockdown after the Northern Territory recorded four new Covid-19 cases linked to an outbreak at a gold mine.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters at a press conference that residents in Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield will enter lockdown for 48 hours from 1pm on Sunday.

‘We are assuming the worst,’ Mr Gunner said.

‘We are expecting more cases. There is a stronger chance that any new cases will have exposure sites which makes the job of tracing and testing much bigger.’ 

The mine outbreak brings the total number of locally-acquired infections in the Territory to five. 

Pictured: Health workers swabbing a Covid quarantine facility in Howard Springs, Darwin

Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters on Sunday morning that Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield will enter lockdown for 48 hours from 1pm

RESTRICTIONS IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY 

Restrictions start at 1pm on Sunday in Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield, and will remain in place for 48 hours. 

Residents can only leave home for the five following reasons: 

– For medical treatment, including Covid tests and vaccines.

– To buy groceries.

– To go to work, if that work is considered essential.

– If you are exercising, which is only permitted for an hour per day, within 5km of your home, with one person that you live with.

– To provide care for a sick family member. 

Source: NT Government

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NT health authorities believe the latest cases are the highly-infectious Indian Delta variant, prompting Mr Gunner to impose a series of rules that are tougher than restrictions in Sydney – which now has 112 local cases.

Residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for five reasons, including medical treatment and Covid testing, to buy groceries, go to work if it is considered essential, or to care for sick family members.

Territorians in hotspots will also only be allowed to exercise for one hour a day with one other person they live with, and they will not be allowed to travel further than 5km away from home. 

‘For everyone in the lockdown area, if you leave your place of residence for one of the five reasons you must wear a mask,’ Mr Gunner said on Sunday.

‘Your ordinary place of residence is where you are now. If you own more than one house, it is where you currently are.

‘There will be poised to control flow in and out of these regions. NT citizens should not travel, including out of the territory.’ 

By comparison, Sydneysiders are not allowed to leave their local government area but there is no restriction on the number of kilometers residents can travel.

The amount of time spent outside is also unrestrained, and time spent outdoors is not limited to exercise.

Supermarkets and alcohol stores in Darwin, Palmerston, and Litchfield will remain open.

The three positive cases still in the Northern Territory have all been taken to the quarantine facility in Howard Springs.

One case is in NSW and being managed by state health authorities, and two are on a mine site in the Tanami Desert.

Officials announced on Saturday that a positive case was recorded in the Granites gold mine, north-west of Alice Springs – plunging about 750 workers into isolation.

Territorians in hotspots will also only be allowed to exercise for one hour a day with one other person they live with Pictured: NT officers checking on people in quarantine

The FIFO worker travelled to Brisbane from Bendigo in Victoria on June 17 and was placed in a quarantine hotel, before flying on a charter plane to the mine in the Tanami Desert the next day.

Regional Victoria was not considered a hotspot by NT at the time.

He was told on June 24 that the hotel he stayed at in Brisbane was an exposure site , and immediately went into isolation.

On Sunday morning, NT authorities receive confirmation that one of the 70 miners who is considered one of his close contacts lives in Palmerston and has tested positive.

The 64-year-old travelled home by plane to Darwin on June 25, before he was picked up by his wife.

‘His only other travel was to collect his adult daughter from her workplace. He did not leave the car. His wife and daughter had no additional movements,’ Mr Gunner said on Saturday. 

The Northern Territory is the fourth region in Australia to record new community cases over the past week.

Sydney is the worst-affected area, with 112 local cases recorded within the past two weeks. Pictured: Repatriated Australians arriving in Darwin from India in May

Sydney is the worst-affected area, with 112 local cases recorded within the past two weeks.

The city and surrounding areas were plunged into a two-week lockdown from 6pm on Saturday, with 30 new cases recorded on Sunday. 

Victoria has three infections which are all linked to the Sydney cluster, but did not record any new cases on Sunday.

Queensland recorded two new cases in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said they were not linked to the Sydney cluster.

One of the two cases is a worker at the Brisbane airport DFO, which was previously listed as an exposure site.

Authorities do not believe they contracted it while working there.

The second case was the DFO worker’s partner, who developed symptoms on June 23.