Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
NT concerned over India quarantine plan
A plan to exclusively quarantine people from India at Howard Springs would need to consider the local health system’s ability to cope, NT Health Minister says.
May 6, 2021
The Northern Territory has raised concerns about a potential plan to use the Howard Springs quarantine facility to exclusively house people repatriated from India.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles says any proposal would have to consider the rate of infections among returnees when the travel ban ends.
The NT health system’s ability to cope with more COVID-19 infected patients would also need to be reviewed.
“We can care for a small number at Royal Darwin Hospital,” she told reporters on Thursday.
“We need to in managing these flights back to Australia make sure we don’t create a burden on the health system here in the Territory.”
Larger numbers of patients could be transferred to interstate hospitals, Ms Fyles said.
Or, the medical facilities at Howard Springs could be further improved.
“It’s a question that’s not easy to provide simple answers on,” she said.
The Morrison government has indicated it is on track to restart flights from India in mid-May.
Howard Springs is expected to start increasing its capacity to handle about 2000 arrivals per week during June.
About 9000 Australians are stranded amid India’s worsening crisis, with 900 of them considered vulnerable due to health and financial difficulties.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has said the federal government is considering using Howard Springs to “holistically” quarantine people from India.