The Northern Territory has revoked its hotspot declarations for most of the Greater Sydney region, effective immediately, as it monitors the city’s coronavirus cluster.
NT acting chief minister Nicole Manison on Thursday said authorities were satisfied the large majority of the local government areas that were previously declared hot spots can now be revoked.
However, parts of the Northern Beaches, the epicentre of the state’s outbreak, will remain as designated hotspots.
Ms Manison said the list of hotspot suburbs in the Northern Beaches area would be listed online in the coming hours.
“But please know if anything changes, we will not hesitate to act quickly if we have to in the coming days,” she told reporters in Darwin.
New South Wales announced nine new coronavirus cases on Thursday from a record 60,000-plus tests.
Seven of the nine cases were linked to the Avalon Northern Beaches cluster, which has now swelled to 104 infections.
People currently quarantining at the Howard Springs and Alice Springs centres would be released on Thursday afternoon, Ms Manison also revealed.
“We are going to work to release them as quickly as possible from the facility so they can go about their Christmas plans and again we thank them for their patience through this process.”
What’s happening across the other states?
Meanwhile, in South Australia, two new coronavirus cases were reported on Thursday, including a young man who returned a “weak positive” result after travelling into the state from NSW.
Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the man in his 20s was aboard a flight from Darwin to Sydney on 18 December that carried an infectious person.
But she said the man was not seated near the person and the positive result was likely due to an old non-infectious case.
“It’s my understanding it is likely to be an old infection therefore nobody in South Australia is at any risk,” Professor Spurrier said.
She said the health department was working to confirm further details and that she was awaiting verification of his result.
The man travelled from Sydney to Wodonga, spending some time in rural Victoria, and crossed into SA at the Yorke Peninsula on Monday. He is in quarantine along with five close contacts as a precaution.
Prof Spurrier said the man was in Victoria at the height of their outbreak but never showed symptoms.
The second case is a man in his 70s who is in a medi-hotel after returning to SA from Doha on 18 December.
In Queensland, a man in his 40s who visited Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and a female superyacht crew member in her 20s in Cairns tested positive for the virus.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said on Thursday the male traveller tested negative after returning from Sydney on Friday, but kater became unwell and tested positive on Wednesday night. The man has self-isolated at this home in the south-east since he returned and has had no contact with the community.
Police are also investigating those aboard the superyacht in Cairns, which arrived in Queensland on Monday. The female crew member was taken to hospital after testing positive for the virus.
Ms D’Ath said the 14 guests and six crew aboard the yacht have not been sharing information about their movements for contact tracing.
‘We are very disappointed that this superyacht is not cooperating, and providing factual correct information to the Queensland Police Service,” she said.
The state now has gone 100 days without community spread, with the two new cases found from 23,609 tests conducted in the last 48 hours.
But those two cases and sewage tests at Wynnum, Bargara and Bundaberg indicate there are more positive cases in the state.
“We cannot afford to get complacent, because with the positive sewage (test) that we have, and the fact that we have this positive case from the Northern Beaches,” Ms D’Ath said on Thursday.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction’s restrictions on gathering limits. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus
Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania
