Baby boy rushed to hospital with Covid as outbreak in Northern Territory surges to 40 cases 

Baby boy is rushed to hospital with Covid as worrying outbreak in Northern Territory surges to 40 cases

• Three new COVID-19 infections in NT, including a baby boy taken to hospital 
• A man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s are the other new cases
• The current outbreak in the Territory now numbers 40 cases
• Lockdown in Katherine was extended until Wednesday at 6pm 

By Aaron Bunch For Australian Associated Press

Published: 02:47 GMT, 23 November 2021 | Updated: 07:06 GMT, 23 November 2021

The Northern Territory has detected three new COVID-19 infections, including a baby boy who has been taken to hospital. 

The new cases are a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s from the Binjari Aboriginal community and a male infant from Robinson River.

‘He’s been transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital for care,’ Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters on Tuesday about the baby.

It brings the current outbreak to 40 cases.

It comes after the lockdown in Katherine, 320km south of Darwin, was extended until Wednesday at 6pm.

It’s the second time the lockdown that started seven days ago has been extended, with residents only permitted to leave their homes for the five essential reasons.

A Katherine resident is seen receiving a Covid test as the lockdown in the area is extended

Healthcare workers are seen in Katherine on Tuesday as the Covid outbreak in the Northern Territory worsens

The current coronavirus outbreak in the NT is now at 40 cases

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters an infant male among the three new Covid-19 cases had been transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital for care

The outbreak started when an infected woman illegally entered the NT in late October.

The 21-year-old lied on her border entry form before travelling from Cairns to Darwin after visiting Victoria, where she had contracted the virus.

She infected a man in Darwin before the virus spread to Katherine, then the Aboriginal communities of Robinson River and Binjari.

Restrictions have eased in Robinson River, 1000km southeast of Darwin, where the lockdown is now a lockout of unvaccinated people.

However, Binjari, 330km south of Darwin, remains under an extreme lockdown order after nine new cases were detected there on Saturday.

The 190 residents, along with 100 people in neighbouring Rockhole, are only allowed to leave their homes in an emergency or for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the NT has relaxed some of its border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers from red zone areas where the virus is present.

Covid tests have ramped up in the Northern Territory due to the current outbreak

A man is seen receiving a vaccination at a walk-in clinic in Katherine on Tuesday

Under sweeping changes to the territory’s border rules, they’re now permitted to quarantine at home as long as they follow new testing guidelines and return negative results.

A ban on most unvaccinated arrivals has also taken effect, regardless of where they travel from.

The only exception will be essential personnel, those entering on compassionate grounds and Territorians returning from green zone jurisdictions where Covid is not present.

The home quarantine requirement is scheduled to end on December 20, with rapid antigen testing extended to all arrivals.

The lockdown in Katherine, 320km south of Darwin, was extended until Wednesday at 6pm, with residents only permitted to leave their homes for the five essential reasons

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