Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) Chief Minister Michael Gunner said on Sunday that nine new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the remote community of Binjari, and that the Australian military was being used to force positive cases and close contacts into quarantine camps.
According to Gunner, one of the nine new cases is a 78-year-old woman who is being treated at Royal Darwin hospital, while the other eight cases had been taken to the Howard Springs quarantine camp.
“It’s been a long and difficult night for a lot of people; none more so than the residents of Binjari,” Gunner said in a Facebook post. “As was reported last night, there were nine positive cases taken from Binjari yesterday following the testing blitz.”
“There are four females: a 23-year-old, a 38-year-old, a 39-year-old, and a 78-year-old… The five males are age 17, 18, 21, 31, and 47,” Gunner added. “They are from different households; we think six in total, their vaccination status has not been confirmed yet.”
“The positive cases in Binjari are very concerning,” he continued. “… As you know, last night we took urgent action to escalate our response in these communities, immediately implementing a hard lockdown. That means residents in Binjari and Rockhole no longer have the five reasons to leave their home. They can only leave for medical treatment, in an emergency, or if required by law.”
“Yes, these are strong measures, but the threat to lives is extreme,” Gunner said.
Gunner added that “it’s highly likely” more residents would be taken to the Howard Springs quarantine camp “today, either as positive cases or close contacts.”
“We’ve already identified 38 close contacts in Binjari, and that number will go up,” Gunner continued. “Those 38 are being transferred now. I contacted the Prime Minister last night. We are grateful for the support of about 20 ADF personnel, as well as army trucks, to assist with transfer of positive cases and close contacts and to support the communities. We’re doing an assessment today of what extra resources we might need from the feds, and the prime minister is ready to help further. I thank him and the Australian government for that. Exposure sites will be updated on the website as the contact tracing continues today. We will also keep testing and doing vaccinations in Binjari and Rockhole. We did 29 vaccinations in Rockhole yesterday, 27 with first dose.”
