Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet
The Chief Health Officer has declared the Melbourne suburb of Sunbury as a COVID-19 Hotspot for the purposes of travel to the Northern Territory from 9.00am today, 10 February 2021. The three suburbs declared on Monday 8 February of Maidstone, Sunshine and Taylors Lake also remain as declared hotspots.
This follows on from a cluster of three cases linked to a hotel quarantine facility in Melbourne where two workers and a returned traveller have tested positive to COVID-19 after working or quarantining on the same floor of the facility. Victoria Health Authorities have implemented a number of public health controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Anyone travelling to the Northern Territory from a COVID-19 Hotspot must undertake 14 days of mandatory, supervised quarantine at the Alice Springs or Howard Springs quarantine facilities at a cost of $2,500 per person. Quarantine will be undertaken at the first urban centre you arrive at, including for transit. Those people in the air at the time the hotspot was declared will have the option to return home or enter mandatory supervised quarantine at no cost.
Those people who have arrived in the Northern Territory between 5 February and 8.59am this morning from the declared hotspot of Sunbury are strongly recommended to have a COVID-19 test and undertake self-quarantine until a negative test result is returned.
Please contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 1800 008 002 to book a test. You do not need to have a COVID-19 test if you only transited to the airport. For all other enquiries phone 1800 490 484.
If you are intending to travel to the Northern Territory from a COVID-19 Hotspot you are advised to rethink your plans. If you are a Territorian intending to travel to a hotspot you are advised to rethink your plans.
The Chief Health Officer will continue to review and assess the COVID-19 situation in Victoria and will take into account COVID-19 monitoring and data collection, the extent of community transmission and risks to the NT community.
The risk of COVID-19 in our communities cannot be eliminated which is why it is important for everyone to follow all health directions.
· If you have COVID-19 symptoms, do not travel. Make sure you get tested and stay at home.
· Maintain a physical distance of 1.5 metres at all times.
· Wash your hands with soap and water and use hand sanitiser regularly.
· Do not go to work if you feel sick.
· If you have symptoms, stay away from others and get tested for COVID-19.
To stay up to date with the latest information visit www.coronavirus.nt.gov.au
Quotes attributable to Chief Health Officer Dr Hugh Heggie
"The decision to declare Sunbury as an additional COVID-19 hotspot is off the back of the three suburbs I declared on Monday and follows on from the initial case linked to what is now a small COVID-19 cluster.
"I remain confident Victorian authorities have acted quickly and have continued their public health controls to limit the spread of COVID-19, and have identified several locations in Sunbury as exposure sites.
"Victoria are closely assessing their practices in quarantine facilities. Other returned travellers undertaking quarantine on the floor of the facility at the centre of this cluster are undertaking an additional 14 days of quarantine and there is a continued high rate of community testing as well as testing the close contacts and casual contacts.
"While declaring just one suburb today, it is another example of how quickly the COVID-19 situation can change. I urge Territorians showing COVID-19 symptoms to seek a test, particularly if they have travelled recently or have come into contact with someone who has been interstate."
