A COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Territory could have spread to two more Indigenous communities.

November 20, 2021

A week-long COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Territory that’s grown to 21 cases could have spread to two more Indigenous communities.

Authorities have detected viral fragments in wastewater from Binjari, a community on the outskirts of the town of Katherine, 320km south of Darwin.

“This is a territory wide issue,” Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters on Friday.

“A rapid assessment team has been deployed to Binjari”.

Mr Gunner said the team would test all 200 residents and provide vaccinations.

Meanwhile, three close contacts have been identified in the remote community of Yuendumu, 1600km south of Darwin.

“There are extra resources on their way Yuendumu,” Mr Gunner said.

The NT’s outbreak grew by two cases on Friday after a 33-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman became infected.

“The male is a health worker who initially had contact with an earlier positive case,” Mr Gunner said.

He’s also the first NT health worker infected with the virus.

The woman has been linked to one of the households where other cases in the current cluster live.

Both new cases are from Katherine.

The outbreak started when a 30-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man from Katherine were reported as infected on Monday.

The woman was unvaccinated and travelled from Katherine to Robinson River, 1000km southeast of Darwin and 800km east of Katherine, where she tested positive – the first case reported in a remote NT Aboriginal community.

Nine new cases were detected in Katherine on Tuesday, including a 71-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman who was admitted to Royal Darwin Hospital.

Eight new cases were reported on Wednesday, with five infections diagnosed in Robinson River, including a three-week-old girl.

No new cases were recorded on Thursday. All the infected people are Indigenous Territorians.

Greater Katherine and Robinson River are currently under a seven-day lockdown order, which is scheduled to end late Monday.

Mr Gunner said a territory-wide health order to wear face masks in most public places until Monday will be reviewed on Saturday.