A number of Darwin Port staff have been put into self-isolation after coming into contact with crew of a cattle ship on which a Pakistani crew member later tested positive for COVID-19.
Key points:
- NT health authorities say the risk to the community is very low
- A number of Darwin Port staff are now self-isolating after coming into contact with the Diamantina crew
- The 25-year-old man who has tested positive is being cared for at Royal Darwin Hospital
The positive test came after the 25-year-old crew member of the Dimantina livestock carrier became symptomatic on the journey from Indonesia, before being tested when the vessel docked in Darwin, returning a positive result.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles said hose port workers now in self-isolation included the pilot, as well as staff who docked the vessel.
Ms Fyles said Darwin Port workers were wearing appropriate PPE at the time they docked the Diamantina on Sunday evening.
“All members of that crew are all close contacts and are being monitored,” she said.
Ms Fyles said the 25-year-old man who tested positive for the coronavirus did not come into direct contact with Darwin Port staff.
“That person that tested positive is being cared for in Royal Darwin Hospital,” she said.
Crew in quarantine, showing no symptoms
Most of the crew have gone into supervised quarantine in Howard Springs, where they will remain for 14 days in a separate area from interstate arrivals.
NT health authorities say none of the crew had left the vessel before the positive diagnosis, and that strict protocols had been in place for any ships arriving into the NT.
Some of the crew, however, have been ordered to remain on board the ship in accordance with international maritime laws, where they will self-isolate and undergo testing.
The new case takes the number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the Northern Territory to 75.
That number includes 40 cases among Australians who returned on repatriation flights.
