Man cops fine for no mask at airport

A MAN has been fined at Darwin airport after he refused to wear a face mask and allegedly became aggressive to staff.

The 29-year-old was approached by staff on Saturday and directed to put on a face mask before attempting to push past the staff member and continue towards the departure lounge.

Police intervened to assist, providing the man with a face mask. However, he refused to wear one and became aggressive towards authorities.

The man was issued with two infringements, said incident controller Sachin Sharma. “One for failing to comply with the chief health officer’s directions and one for disorderly behaviour in a public place,” Mr Sharma said.

“It’s critical that travellers understand the importance of wearing a face mask in the airport. There is a lot of foot traffic through the airport, with people crossing paths with travellers from a variety of destinations.”

The penalty for failing to abide by the Chief Health Officer Directions issued under section 56 of the Public and Environment Health Act 2011 is $5024 for an individual (32 penalty units) and $25,120 for a business (160 penalty units).

It comes after regional Victoria was revoked as a hotspot on Friday, for purposes of travel to the NT.

Hotspots remain in place for the City of Greater Shepparton LGA and Metropolitan Melbourne.

People arriving in the Northern Territory from regional Victoria will no longer have to undertake mandatory supervised quarantine in the NT and anyone currently in mandatory supervised quarantine from these areas will be able to exit.

Chief health officer Hugh Heggie said the hotspots lifting across regional Victoria aligned with the easing of some restrictions in those areas by Victorian authorities.