This morning, the Security and Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) made the decision under the Northern Territory pandemic plan to lock down part of the NT community. 

Effective from 12.01pm today, the below areas will enter a full lockdown for 72 hours:

City of Darwin

City of Palmerston

Litchfield Council

Wagait Shire

Belyuen Shire

Dundee

Bynoe

Charlotte

Cox Peninsula

Municipality of Katherine including Tindal

The lockdown follows confirmation of a COVID-19 positive case last night of a man in his 30’s who had relocated to the Territory for work. The man is currently isolating in Katherine and will be transferred to the Centre for National Resilience today.

As an international arrival, he completed 14-days quarantine in Sydney on 12 August 2021 and returned multiple negative test results, the last one on the 10 August 2021.  He transited from Sydney to Darwin via Canberra on Thursday (12 August 2021).

He landed in Darwin at approximately midnight Thursday night-Friday morning (12-13 August 2021) and drove to Katherine on Sunday afternoon after having his mandatory three-day post quarantine test at the RDH Pandemic clinic.

This test subsequently returned a positive last night. This man is asymptomatic and it is not known where he contracted COVID-19 or what strain it is.

The man visited various locations in the Darwin CBD and Katherine for limited periods of time. The exposure site locations are available at coronavirus.nt.gov.au 

From 12:01pm today, residents from affected areas must stay at home for the 72 hour lockdown period and people are only permitted to leave home for the following five reasons:

1.   Medical treatment, including COVID testing or vaccination

2.   For essential goods and services, like groceries and medications

3.   For work that is considered essential

4.   For one hour of outdoor exercise a day within 5 km from your home with one other person or people from your house

5.   To provide care and support to a family member or person who cannot support themselves.

Schools in affected areas will remain open only for the children of essential workers.

For everyone in the lockdown area, masks must be worn if you leave your place of residence for one of these five reasons.

Your place of residence is where you live right now.

Anyone caught breaching today’s directions – including not wearing a mask – faces a $5,000 fine.

Police will be establishing interception points to control travel in and out of these regions.

Territorians in the lockdown areas should not travel – including out of the Territory – unless it is for one of the five reasons.

Non-Territorians are permitted to leave the Territory.

Update from SecureNT

Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet