Northern Territory will keep its borders shut for 18 MONTHS to stop the spread of coronavirus

Northern Territory will keep its borders shut for 18 MONTHS to stop the spread of coronavirus

  • Northern Territory to keep its borders closed for 18 months to stop virus spread 
  • More police officers will be recruited to man roads in and out of the territory 

The Northern Territory will keep its borders closed for 18 months to stop the spread of coronavirus, the state’s chief minister has announced. 

More police officers will be recruited to man roads in and out the territory, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.

Anyone from Sydney and Victoria entering the Northern Territory must quarantine for two weeks and pay for it themselves. Everyone must fill out a border declaration pass.

Mr Gunner said 18 months was a ‘conservative’ estimate for re-opening the state border. 

Australians are taken off a bus and into a quarantine facility in Darwin during the COVID-19 crisis. The Northern Territory will keep its borders closed for 18 months to stop the spread of coronavirus , the state’s chief minister said on Tuesday

‘We have got an indefinite ban on Victoria, and Sydney keeps bubbling away to a point to I can’t give you a date where that would ever lift,’ he told ABC 24.

‘My advice to every Territorian, if you can, stay here in the Territory. You’re safe here, don’t go.

‘If you can, cancel your Christmas holiday plans, stay here in the Northern Territory.’ 

Mr Gunner said he was concerned about the territory’s isolated and remote Aboriginal population and was taking a ‘Territorians first’ approach to handling the pandemic.

‘This is what I think I need to do to make sure some of the most vulnerable people in the world stay safe,’ he said.

‘I‘m not taking risks here. Your life comes first. This is the Territory-first test. If you’re as safe as us, you’re welcome in.’ 

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner has a beer at the Cavenaugh Hotel in Darwin as social distancing restrictions were relaxed in May. He said he was taking a 'Territorians first' approach to handling the COVID-19 pandemic

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner has a beer at the Cavenaugh Hotel in Darwin as social distancing restrictions were relaxed in May. He said he was taking a ‘Territorians first’ approach to handling the COVID-19 pandemic

Mr Gunner’s announcement follows Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying he hoped some restrictions could be eased by Christmas.

‘I think it’s unlikely that we are able to move back to a restriction-free society. I doubt that is going to happen. I doubt the medical position will enable that,’ he said on Tuesday.

‘It’s important that we just, you know, look and test, interrogate the medical evidence and make decisions based on that and nothing else and be transparent about it. 

More to come 

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