Health Minister Natasha Fyles has spoken to media this afternoon about the result, she said it was not being treated as a new coronavirus case, but just an unusual result.

Ms Fyles said the man had previously been infected with the virus in Victoria several weeks ago and had been cleared, returning several negative test results.

The man had then flown to the NT via Brisbane on Saturday evening and traveled directly to the quarantine facility for the required 14-day stay at Howard Springs.

Ms Fyles said the man had stayed in his room and posed "a very low risk" to the many other other people quarantining there.

She said the test result was believed to be "residual" from his previous infection.

"The man returned a low positive COVID-19 test today, having previously recovered from COVID-19, a government spokesman said.

"The man had previously tested positive to COVID-19 and had since recovered, returning a negative test result on 13 September 2020. The Victorian resident arrived in Darwin on Saturday 26 September 2020 via Brisbane.

"The test result received today detected a very small amount of the remaining inactive virus which resulted in what is termed a low positive result. This can happen on occasion when a small amount of the virus residue remains, even after recovery. The man is not infectious."

The man had been taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for further isolation and testing.

The Territory currently has no active cases of the virus, has had no community transmission with 34 confirmed cases, mostly early on the pandemic from international travel.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.