NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner says power and people are needed to close the Territory's borders.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Gunner is facing an overwhelming call from Territorians to protect them from the spread of coronavirus.
With only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in the NT, many organisations and individuals says time is fast running out for the Government to act.
Mr Gunner last night said he had written to neighbouring Premiers in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia to flag the border closures.
He is also checking whether he has the legal authority to act.
Mr Gunner is also asking the Federal Government, with a meeting of the new national cabinet this morning, whether extra manpower could be provided to staff border crossing points.
Mr Gunner said the closures would necessarily have to be air, sea as well as land.
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance yesterday expressed support for a proposal to make the entire NT and the tristate region a Special Control Area for COVID 19.
The measure would simply apply the same travel restrictions that are now mandatory for international visitors arriving in Australia, to visitors to the Northern Territory from any Australian jurisdiction, the alliance said.
"New Zealand and Tasmania have led the way in forward-thinking, decisive action to fight this virus. We must follow their lead", AMSANT CEO, John Paterson said.
"The recent spike in numbers of confirmed cases in other jurisdictions, particularly NSW, Queensland and Victoria, points to an exponential growth of spread. Yet the NT remains without any cases.
"This offers a narrow window of opportunity to introduce measures now to prevent the spread of the virus into the NT, or at least significantly delay and minimise any spread.
"Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures", Mr Paterson said.
"Our Aboriginal population comprises the most vulnerable group in Australia and the projections for the likely health impacts of COVID 19 are nothing short of devastating."
He said the H1N1 virus in 2009 resulted in death rates amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population six times that of the non Indigenous community and the need for ICU beds around eight times more.
"This once-only opportunity we have to introduce a measure that can turn back the tide on this virus must not be missed", Mr Paterson said.
Katherine Mayor Fay Miller on Tuesday led the call to close the borders.
"The Territory is moving far too slowly on this matter," she said.
"The NT borders need to be closed to reduce the risk of a spread.
"We only have one case here, but if it gets into our communities it could wreak havoc."
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.