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Katie Woolf spoke with Health Minister Natasha Fyles from Jabiru Health Clinic · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: You are listening to mix one oh four point nine
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  Speaker 1: three sixty. Now joining me on the line right now
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  Speaker 1: is the Health Minister Natasha Files live from the Jabbaru
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  Speaker 1: Health Clinic. Good morning to your minister.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Sorry mister week it was I'm out
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  Speaker 2: here on the ground meeting with some of our wonderful
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  Speaker 2: health professionals and other stakeholders.
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  Speaker 1: You are forgiven that is okay now, Minister. The big
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  Speaker 1: topic on everybody's lips this morning is of course the
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  Speaker 1: fact that the Northern Territory is now open to the
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  Speaker 1: Greater Sydney region. Why are we still opening to Sydney
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  Speaker 1: despite the fact that they've now got a new cluster.
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  Speaker 2: So in terms of the coronavirus, we've had the hot
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  Speaker 2: spots policy which has kept us safe to date. We
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  Speaker 2: did see some cases over the last few days in Sydney.
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  Speaker 2: The Chief Health Officer made the decision to continue revoking
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  Speaker 2: that hot spot declaration for Sydney Metropolitan after being briefed
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  Speaker 2: by New South Wales and National Authority at AHPPC. We
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  Speaker 2: need to remember it's this clinical advice that's kept us
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  Speaker 2: safe to date. Certainly for territorians. We understand the concern
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  Speaker 2: that people are apprehensive about these changes, but we need
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  Speaker 2: to step forward as we learn to live with coronavirus
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  Speaker 2: whilst there's not a vaccine, and need to remember that
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  Speaker 2: the clinical information that we've acted on to date has
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  Speaker 2: kept us safe. To reassure territory in.
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  Speaker 1: So, Minister, what is the latest advice this morning is
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  Speaker 1: you know, is it a situation where all of those
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  Speaker 1: cases now in New South Wales, that we know where
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  Speaker 1: they've come from and that that contact tracing is able
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  Speaker 1: to happen, can you assure territory and so we're not
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  Speaker 1: going to end up with people coming from New South
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  Speaker 1: Wales who potentially have COVID.
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  Speaker 2: So, Katie I was briefed by our Chief Health Officer,
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  Speaker 2: Doctor Hugh Hegy yesterday afternoon. He's just come off the
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  Speaker 2: HPPC national hookups and the understanding is that those cases
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  Speaker 2: a very small number of cases in a very large population.
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  Speaker 2: It's important to remember that they believe the New Suthwal
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  Speaker 2: authorities are linked. They've done that contract tracing and so
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  Speaker 2: we know that New South Wales has been able to
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  Speaker 2: trace and to trap the outbreaks that they've seen. It's
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  Speaker 2: important that these cases are understand are connected. It's not
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  Speaker 2: widespread community transmission and people also need to remember that
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  Speaker 2: there's a personal responsibility. If people aren't feeling well, they
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  Speaker 2: need to isolate immediately reach out for a coronavirus test.
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  Speaker 2: We know the huge impact that COVID has had on
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  Speaker 2: people's lives and the inability to travel to see family
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  Speaker 2: and friends, and so the decision was made to wait
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  Speaker 2: those two replication cycles. We've done that. Yes, we have
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  Speaker 2: seen some cases in New South Wales and we'll see
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  Speaker 2: more cases into the future. We're not aiming for eradication
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  Speaker 2: of coronavirus suppression strategy, and what that means is we've
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  Speaker 2: got the resources with the contact tracing, we've got the
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  Speaker 2: resources to care for people. So this is about learning
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  Speaker 2: to live with the virus until we get a vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: I know that South Australia is going to be having
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  Speaker 1: a meeting this morning to decide if they are still
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  Speaker 1: going to or if they are going to actually close
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  Speaker 1: their borders again to New South Wales. Queen Sain said
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  Speaker 1: that they won't be opening until the source has been confirmed.
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  Speaker 1: Are we jumping the gun here? Should we have waded
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  Speaker 1: a bit longer?
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  Speaker 2: Katie? This advice from our Chief Health officer has kept
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  Speaker 2: us space to date, the Northern Territory has handled our
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  Speaker 2: health professionals and all those supporting them have handled coronavirus
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  Speaker 2: very well, and so we must, as I keep saying,
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  Speaker 2: learn to live with this virus. We have technically met
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  Speaker 2: that clinical definition of eradication here in the territory, but
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  Speaker 2: we've always aimed for a suppression strategy. We will, I believe,
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  Speaker 2: see cases of COVID pop up in the territory, but
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  Speaker 2: we've got the resources there to do the testing, to
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  Speaker 2: do the contact tracing and to contain that. As we
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  Speaker 2: step forward, we need to open up to the rest
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  Speaker 2: of Australia. Early on in the virus, we didn't know
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  Speaker 2: a lot about the virus. We didn't have the resources
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  Speaker 2: in place. But in the months since we've been shut down,
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  Speaker 2: we have been able to put in place those resources
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  Speaker 2: across health. We've been putting in place the resources on
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  Speaker 2: our borders and they will stay there for some time
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  Speaker 2: to come so that we have that information. So this
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  Speaker 2: is a complex process.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister, I want to just take you across to
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  Speaker 1: a report from the int Pendant today. It actually shows
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  Speaker 1: a video taken from within the Northern Territories Howard Springs
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  Speaker 1: COVID nineteen quarantine facility that shows revelers dancing closely with
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  Speaker 1: some ignoring advice to wear masks. It's been labeled as
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  Speaker 1: dangerous by the President of the Australian Medical Association. Now
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  Speaker 1: this clip, it's a short clip. It's been posted to
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  Speaker 1: TikTok and it shows a group of about twenty people
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  Speaker 1: participating in the taxpayer subsidized hotel quarantine. Rave is what
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  Speaker 1: it's been called by the person who's created it for
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  Speaker 1: somebody's birthday party. Have you seen this vision?
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  Speaker 2: No, Okatie, I haven't seen that vision, and that's the
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  Speaker 2: first I've heard of it, and I'll certainly ask Health
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  Speaker 2: to provide some information around that. But what we have
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  Speaker 2: established in the Northern Territory is a process of mandatory
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  Speaker 2: quarantine where people pay that two and a half thousand
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  Speaker 2: dollars and it is utilized for those hot what's going forward.
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  Speaker 2: It has been professionally run. We haven't seen cases come
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  Speaker 2: out of that facility. But of course the commentary that
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  Speaker 2: you've just provided, the way it's been explained is a
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  Speaker 2: little concerning to me as the minister. So I'll ask
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  Speaker 2: some questions around that, But that's a facility that has
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  Speaker 2: cared for hundreds of people in the most professional way
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  Speaker 2: over some months. Now.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I will just sort of describe it for you,
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  Speaker 1: I suppose, because like you said, obviously you haven't seen it,
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  Speaker 1: but it does show a number of people dancing in
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  Speaker 1: pretty close proximity to each other. You can see that
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  Speaker 1: there's people that are there that do not have masks on.
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  Speaker 1: Are you concerned that something like this is happening out
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  Speaker 1: there at the facility?
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  Speaker 2: So the way it's just been explained to me does
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  Speaker 2: raise some concern and that's why I've said that I'll
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  Speaker 2: ask some questions, but we do need to remember that
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  Speaker 2: this professionally run facility hasn't seen outbreaks of coronavirus. We've
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  Speaker 2: got people out there working around the clock, very long hours,
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  Speaker 2: in very difficult circumstances, caring for people, and it is
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  Speaker 2: providing that option to get people into the territory to
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  Speaker 2: undertake that quarantine and to keep our community safe. So
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  Speaker 2: I won't provide further commentary. I'll ask the department to
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  Speaker 2: look into that, and certainly from there, can.
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  Speaker 1: I just ask how often are people tested when they
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  Speaker 1: are in that quarantine facility.
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  Speaker 2: So we've been quite upfront with this. People are tested
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  Speaker 2: early on and then they're tested at day ten. If
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  Speaker 2: they refuse to undertake that test at day ten, then
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  Speaker 2: they do another period of time and they have to
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  Speaker 2: pay for that. So in terms of the procedures in place,
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  Speaker 2: they're based on the latest clinical evidence around this virus.
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  Speaker 2: And I know in terms of the groupings out there,
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  Speaker 2: people are grouped together, they're able to visit some of
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  Speaker 2: the recreation facilities in their grouping. So we've structured it
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  Speaker 2: in a way that people can cope mentally with the
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  Speaker 2: fourteen days being in quarantine. But at the same time,
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  Speaker 2: there's procedures in place if we were to see cases
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  Speaker 2: that we can limit the spread of that.
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  Speaker 1: So are you satisfied that if in this instance, you
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  Speaker 1: know where there are all these people that are dancing
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  Speaker 1: together out there, are you satisfied that should somebody have COVID,
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  Speaker 1: it will be picked up before they leave the facility.
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  Speaker 2: Anyone at that facility is tested before the exit the facility.
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  Speaker 2: The fourteen days that people are in quarantine is based
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  Speaker 2: on clinical elevens. We know it's that day ten or
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  Speaker 2: eleven that they need to be tested and that's what's undertaken.
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  Speaker 2: So that facility we just need to point to its
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  Speaker 2: track record. It's kept people safe that have come from
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  Speaker 2: hotspot areas for some months now.
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  Speaker 1: Minister. Another thing that I keep getting asked over the
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  Speaker 1: last couple of days, and we did speak about this
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  Speaker 1: earlier in the week, is that Howard Springs testing facility,
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  Speaker 1: so not the actual quarantining area, but where the testing
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  Speaker 1: was set up. Another listener has contacted us this morning
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  Speaker 1: and asked why are we shutting that one down now
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  Speaker 1: as we've got more people coming into the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: So, Katie, we've been doing continually over two thousand COVID
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  Speaker 2: tests for some weeks. Now those numbers fluctuate by a
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  Speaker 2: few hundred. We've got the ability to step up our
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  Speaker 2: testing to over five hundred a day if we need to,
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  Speaker 2: but we don't have community transmission of COVID, and so
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  Speaker 2: in the interest of we're in this marathon, it's not
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  Speaker 2: a sprint. So the decision was made clinically to shut
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  Speaker 2: down the Howard Springs testing facility. People can get tested,
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  Speaker 2: as I told you earlier in the week, at the
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  Speaker 2: Royals are and the Palmerston superclinic and Atamelo dial but
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  Speaker 2: they must make an appointment and so that resource out
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  Speaker 2: there can be stood up at any point if we
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  Speaker 2: need to. So we need to make sure that in
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  Speaker 2: managing this pandemic that we have the resources and that
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  Speaker 2: we've got the strength to get through for many months
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  Speaker 2: to come.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, another listener question, should we be testing the waste
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  Speaker 1: water like they do down south?
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  Speaker 2: That has been discussed at a national level around doing
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  Speaker 2: wastewater testing, and certainly in terms of areas that have
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  Speaker 2: got community transmission, the evidence says that they should be
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  Speaker 2: doing that. It's something that we certainly would consider if
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  Speaker 2: we were to see cases. We need to understand why
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  Speaker 2: would we be doing the wastewater testing and what is
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  Speaker 2: it aiming to achieve. But it's something that's been discussed
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  Speaker 2: with our clinical professionals. My understanding is it hasn't taken
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  Speaker 2: place to date, but into the future we'd certainly be
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  Speaker 2: open to that.
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  Speaker 1: Minister. Just finally this morning, there are still quite a
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  Speaker 1: few people getting in contact as we speak that are
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  Speaker 1: really quite concerned about Sydney siders coming into the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: If we end up in a situation over the next
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  Speaker 1: day or two where those case numbers continue to increase
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  Speaker 1: in New South Wales and specifically in Greater Sydney, will
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  Speaker 1: we shut down to Sydney again, So, Katie, I.
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  Speaker 2: Think the answer is there in the sensor. I remember,
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  Speaker 2: going back a few weeks we saw Brisbane within a
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  Speaker 2: few hours that was declared a hot spot. Our health professionals,
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  Speaker 2: our Chief Health Officer is participating in those national meetings
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  Speaker 2: very regularly. They're looking at that information and we're not
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  Speaker 2: afraid to call a hot spot if we need to
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  Speaker 2: keep territory and safe. So I understand the apprehension of
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  Speaker 2: the community, the concern of the community, but in terms
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  Speaker 2: of keeping us safe, we followed the clinical evidence today
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  Speaker 2: and we will continue to do so.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Minister for Health Natasha Files, we appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 1: As always, we better leave it there, thank you.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie,