Aboriginal Congress calls for ‘complete lockdown’ of Central Australia. Health Minister Natasha Fyles disagrees
Central Australia’s peak Aboriginal health body has warned “a Tsunami of COVID cases is coming” to the region and has called for a “complete lockdown” of the area to prevent further spread.
Central Australian Aboriginal Congress acting chief executive Josie Douglas said the region had reached “breaking point” and a lockdown was a much-needed “circuit breaker” for health authorities to get on top of the outbreak.
The NT government has already introduced lockouts, which limit the movement of unvaccinated people, in Alice Springs, Amoonguna, Yuendumu and Yuelamu.
A separate lockdown is currently in place in the Utopia Homelands, a community that NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles says has a vaccination rate of about 40 per cent.
Despite the plea from the congress, Ms Fyles says current health advice does not recommend plunging the entire region into lockdown.
But Dr Douglas insisted existing measures do not go far enough.
“The lockout is proving to be totally ineffective,” she said.
“People are moving in and around Alice Springs, moving from community to community.
“The situation is Central Australia is dire.”
Reporting by Lauren Roberts
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-26/covid-live-blog-isolation-vaccination-case-numbers-rat-tests/100781608
