A growing coronavirus outbreak linked to a central Australian mine has prompted the Northern Territory government to extend a snap lockdown.

June 29, 2021

The Northern Territory’s snap lockdown has been extended after a seventh COVID-19 case was reported from an outbreak linked to a central Australian mine.

The lockdown was expected to end on Tuesday but has been extended for a further 72 hours until 1pm on Friday, Chief Minister Michael Gunner says.

Health officials have confirmed the outbreak is of the Delta variant, with seven positive cases reported in three days.

The most recent case is a man in his 50s, who left Newmont’s Granites Mine about 540km northwest of Alice Springs, on Friday.

He returned to Darwin, where he travelled to multiple venues while infectious in the community for about 36 hours, Mr Gunner told reporters on Monday.

“What greatly concerns us is the potential for exposure to others,” he said.

“We are now in a critical period.”

It’s the sixth case linked to a Victorian man who travelled to the mine via a Brisbane quarantine hotel before testing positive on Saturday.

“The coronavirus is here and we are dealing with it,” Mr Gunner said.

The newest case was moved to the Howard Springs quarantine facility but authorities fear he may have come into contact with about 150 people while in the community.

Public exposure sites include the Buff Club, Darwin International Airport departure lounge, the BWS bottle store in the Parap, Bunnings Darwin, Corner Store Friendly Grocer in Stuart Park and the Commonwealth Bank on Smith Street in the CBD.

Authorities have tested all the mineworkers who remained in the NT with 199 tests coming back negative. The remaining results are pending, Mr Gunner said.

“Our biggest concern is not the test results of these people, it’s the high-risk exposure (Buff Club) site and close contacts of the new case,” he said.

About 170 fly-in, fly-out workers from the mine travelled in recent days to Brisbane, 250 flew to Perth and 29 headed to South Australia, with 259 remaining in the Top End.

One of the positive cases travelled to NSW and is being managed by authorities there.

The most recent positive case was identified in Queensland after a woman flew via Darwin to Brisbane.

A close contact of the infected Victorian miner, who lives in Palmerston, south of Darwin, tested positive to COVID-19 on Sunday while in the Howard Springs quarantine centre.

Two miners who had not left the Tanami Desert site have also been evacuated to Howard Springs.

The lockdown encompasses the Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield local government areas, and Wagait and Belyuen Shires, with anyone leaving their home required to wear a face mask.

Residents are only permitted to leave home for medical treatment, to obtain essential goods and services, for work considered essential, one hour of exercise a day or to provide care.