Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park residents want tourist flights from Brisbane stopped after a Northern Territory COVID-19 alert over a growing virus cluster.

September 2, 2020

Residents of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park want tourists from southeast Queensland blocked from entering the park after a Northern Territory COVID-19 alert.

NT Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie placed Greater Brisbane and the Gold Coast on the Top End’s “area of elevated” coronavirus hotspot list, with a warning there were disease clusters in the areas.

“An area of elevated COVID alert may or may not go on to be declared a hotspot depending on the evolution of the outbreak,” an update to the NT government’s COVID-19 website said on Friday.

Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation general manager Glenn Irvine says flights from southeast Queensland should be stopped for at least seven days until the cluster is controlled.

“It’s currently a very unclear situation and we’d prefer to err on the side of caution to protect our community,” he told AAP on Wednesday.

“We need to slow it all down until things are right.”

Visitors from areas on the NT’s elevated COVID alert list are asked to refrain from visiting high-risk settings, including remote communities and residential aged care facilities.

Mr Irvine said the Mutitjulu community was doubly vulnerable being both remote and populated by many elderly residents.

“They need to either declare the areas as hotspots or wait until they are COVID free before letting anyone on the planes,” he said.

Visitors to the NT from hotspots such as Victoria must undergo 14 days of mandatory supervised quarantine.

NT Health has been contacted for contact.