Covid cluster in the Northern Territory grows after Senator’s sister brings virus into remote Aboriginal community

  • Northern Territory recorded nine new cases with total of 11 active in community
  • Senator Malarndirri McCarthy revealed her sister had brought in the virus 
  • Katherine and Robinson River will now be under lockdown until next Monday 

By Eliza Mcphee For Daily Mail Australia and Aap

Published: 03:26 GMT, 16 November 2021 | Updated: 03:49 GMT, 16 November 2021


The Northern Territory has suffered another nine new Covid-19 cases as a Senator revealed her sister brought the virus into a remote Aboriginal community.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy’s unvaccinated 30-year-old sister and a 43-year-old Aboriginal man tested positive to the virus on Monday, sending Greater Katherine and Robinson River into a snap three-day lockdown.

The additional cases reported on Tuesday are all in Indigenous residents and are household contacts of the pair living in Katherine, about 320km south of Darwin.

The total number of active cases in the state is now at 11 with NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner confirming the lockdown will now be extended to next Monday at 6pm.

The Northern Territory has recorded another nine cases of Covid-19

The Northern Territory has recorded another nine cases of Covid-19

All residents in the state will also now have to follow mask mandates.

The new infections include a 71-year-old man, two five-year-old twin girls and a 65-year-old woman, who has been admitted to Royal Darwin Hospital.

Four other woman aged 62, 40, 38 and 22 have also been diagnosed with the virus, along with a 16-year-old girl.

All have been moved to the Howard Springs quarantine facility with the exception of the woman moved to RDH.

A personal message from me about the Covid case in the NT. This hits close to home. I encourage families to get tested, get vaccinated, listen to the health advice and ignore the disgraceful misinformation being spread in communities particularly on social media. pic.twitter.com/MRsXN6OCp4

— Malarndirri McCarthy (@Malarndirri19) November 16, 2021

Contact tracers have identified 161 close contacts but no new cases have been diagnosed in the remote Aboriginal community of Robinson River, where Ms McCarthy’s sister had travelled to and was diagnosed.

Ms McCarthy’s sister’s case is the first Covid-19 infection reported in a remote NT Aboriginal community.

‘I’d like to say a personal message and that is that to my sister, who is the source of the Covid infection in Robinson River, our thoughts and prayers are with her and our family,’ Ms McCarthy told reporters. 

She also addressed some of the criticism she had seen by online trolls.

‘I encourage families to get tested, get vaccinated, listen to the health advice and ignore the disgraceful misinformation being spread in communities particularly on social media,’ she said. 

Health teams have been deployed to Robinson River and surrounding communities for a testing and vaccine blitz. 

More to come 

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