No unknown transmissions

NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles has assured Territorians that one of the cases of COVID-19 diagnosed on Friday night was not from community transmission. The woman, who had not been overseas, is understood to have contracted the virus from a family member who had been travelling. Some people with coronavirus are expected to be moved to the Howard Springs clinic soon.

NEARLY 100 Territorians are being monitored for potential coronavirus.

Health data obtained by the Sunday Territorian shows 98 people are being actively monitored across the Territory for potential COVID-19.

Of the 98, 63 are in the Darwin urban area, two in East Arnhem, four in Katherine and 29 in Alice Springs.

Fifty-six of the 98 are being monitored for potential exposure from flights, 38 from households, one from health care and three “other”.

Already, 316 people have been actively monitored for COVID-19 in the Territory. So far, there have been 2721 negative tests, including 79 negatives yesterday.

The NT has so far had 26 cases confirmed.

NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles has assured Territorians one of the cases of COVID-19 diagnosed on Friday night was not from community transmission.

Four more people tested positive to the virus late on Friday evening, including a woman in her 20s who had not acquired it from overseas but from a family member who had already been diagnosed.

Ms Fyles said this was the first case acquired in the Territory but it was not a case of community transmission.

Centre for Disease Control director Dr Vicki Krause said it was important to understand the difference.

“Community transmission is when a locally acquired case cannot be traced back to a close contact,” she said.

“We are not seeing the transmission that is unknown across the community.”

The four new cases were expected to be at Royal Darwin Hospital yesterday.

Ms Fyles said some of the 26 confirmed cases could begin being transferred to the Howard Springs pandemic clinic from this weekend. “I haven’t been advised that any patients have been admitted there,” she said. “It could be today ... That would be a clinical decision.”

It comes as a third person was fined for breaching quarantine under the strict new Territory border regulations.

The 31-year-old man from NSW breached his quarantine on Friday by travelling to Katherine after initially staying at a Darwin Hotel.

He then returned to Darwin within the 14-day quarantine period and was fined $1099.

According to NT Police, 1635 compliance checks have been completed with three fines issued in the Territory.