Greater Darwin and Katherine have woken to their first full day of lockdown after a COVID-19 infected man travelled to the Northern Territory from Sydney.

August 17, 2021

Residents in Greater Darwin and the town of Katherine are starting their first full day in COVID-19 lockdown amid fears of a Delta outbreak.

About 150,000 people were plunged into a 72-hour lockdown at midday on Monday after an infected US traveller spent four days in the community.

The man in his 30s travelled to Darwin for work on Thursday after quarantining for 14 days in a Sydney hotel.

He arrived at Darwin Airport on a Qantas flight just before midnight and travelled to the Hilton Hotel by taxi.

The man then spent three days in the city before travelling on Sunday to Katherine, where he met a friend and visited Woolworths.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the man had been cooperating with authorities but had refused to say if he was vaccinated.

The taxi driver and an Uber driver that took the man to collect a hire car on Friday have been deemed close contacts.

The infected man returned a positive COVID-19 result on Sunday after mandatory testing at Royal Darwin Hospital three days after arriving in the NT.

He earlier returned a negative test on day 12 of his stay in Sydney before flying to the NT via Canberra, while it was a hotspot.

Mr Gunner said the man was presumed to be infected with the Delta variant but authorities do not yet know the source of his infection.

He was moved to the National Centre for Resilience in Howard Springs on Monday after being placed in isolation in Katherine.

Residents were given 90 minutes’ notice of the three-day lockdown, which is scheduled to end Thursday.

Numerous exposure sites have been listed, including Outback Steaks and Curry in Darwin and Knotts Crossing Resort in Katherine.

People must wear face masks outside their homes and are only permitted to leave for five reasons.

These are to buy essential goods and services, for medical treatment, one hour of exercise within five kilometres, essential work and to provide care to people unable to support themselves.

Thousands of interstate visitors are currently in the Top End for the Darwin Festival, which has been suspended.

A public celebration in Darwin on Tuesday for returning Tokyo Olympians has been cancelled.