Howard Springs Quarantine Facility COVID-19 Testing

Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet

A 65 year old male at the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility returned a low positive COVID-19 test today, having previously recovered from COVID-19.

The man had previously tested positive to COVID-19 and had since recovered, returning a negative test result on 13 September 2020. The Victorian resident arrived in Darwin on Saturday 26 September 2020 via Brisbane.

The test result received today detected a very small amount of the remaining inactive virus which resulted in what is termed a low positive result. This can happen on occasion when a small amount of the virus residue remains, even after recovery. The man is not infectious.

The man has been taken to Royal Darwin Hospital and is in isolation as a precaution and will continue to be tested over the coming days.

This case shows that our Northern Territory COVID-19 response is working and highlights the quality of our infection control measures in mandatory supervised quarantine.

This is not considered to be a new COVID-19 case. The Northern Territory's COVID-19 case numbers remain at 34.

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