There were also negative wastewater testing results in Katherine, including Bicentennial Road which had been an area of concern.

Rockhole is also in lockout, with hopes that Binjari's hard lockdown might be eased if no new cases were found during around of intensive testing on Tuesday.

The risk of a COVID case is Lajamanu decreased to "presumptive" overnight with the possibility somebody with the virus might have been travelling through the area. A total of 313 tests were conducted in the remote community on Monday, with results expected in the next 24 hours.

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Health Minister Natasha Fyles said things were heading in the right direction and as a result it was hoped Binjari restrictions might soon ease.

"This will make life a little more comfortable for those residents but we are supporting them on the ground, Ms Fyles said.

"Our authorities are working around the clock to make sure that they have everything they need in these trying circumstances".

Ms Fyles said lockdowns were always intended to be "short and sharp just to let us get ahead and then we would hope to be able to remove it".

"Obviously in Katherine it's been more prolonged because we haven't had that high rate of vaccination," she said. "So there was a number of factors to why that continued."

Katherine is now just short of the 80 per cent double dose vaccinated rate, with 137 people turning up to be jabbed on Monday.

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"We're encouraging everybody that hasn't had a vaccination to please get vaccinated," she said. "It is the best tool to protect yourself and your community."

Ms Fyles said that Katherine was doing a great job in tough times.

"A big shout out to everyone down there," Ms Fyles said. "I know it's really warm and hot, but they certainly are doing the right thing."

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast temperatures in the Katherine region to top 40 degrees for most of this week.

The man in Howard Springs with the newly-emerged Omicron variant of COVID-19 was being cared for at the Darwin facility and people on the flight he arrived on would be undertaking day five testing on Tuesday.

"So there'll be more tests conducted on the other passengers of that flight and we'll certainly alert the community if there is any more positive cases," Ms Fyles said.

The federal government has announced the return of roughly 200,000 skilled migrants, international students, and humanitarian visa holders would be pushed back until December 15 following the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant in South Africa.

It remains unclear where the Omicron variant is more severe than previous variants, or has undermined the effectiveness of vaccines.

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