The Chief Health Officer has declared the Bass Coast Shire Council Local Government Area in Victoria as a hotspot for the purposes of travel to the Northern Territory, backdated to 12 July 2021. This date aligns with the period of time people were in the community while infectious.

Anyone travelling to the Northern Territory, who has been to the Bass Coast Shire Council in Victoria since 12 July 2021 and arrives in the Northern Territory after 5pm on 17 July 2021, will be required to undertake 14 days of mandatory supervised quarantine at the Alice Springs or Howard Springs quarantine facilities.

The person must remain in quarantine until noon of the 14th day after they were at the hotspot location.

Anyone already in the Northern Territory that has been to the Bass Coast are required to follow testing and quarantine directions in place.

If they have been to a public exposure site they will need to follow the relevant direction which can be found here: https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/travel/quarantine/hotspots-covid-19/victoria

This hotspot declaration is required to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak evolving in Victoria, with community transmission having occurred in Phillip Island in the Bass Coast Shire Council area.

A number of hotspot declarations for Victoria and Chief Health Officer quarantine and testing directions remain in place for those people who have been to a public exposure site in Victoria.

Public exposure sites continue to change and it is important that those people who have arrived in the Northern Territory from Victoria since 7 June 2021 check the Victorian Health website daily to ensure compliance with the testing direction.

Victorian health authorities are undertaking considerable work to investigate, trace and locate close contacts.

A list of Victorian public exposure sites can be found at https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites#public-exposure-sites-in-victoria.

A list of declared COVID-19 hotspots can be found at https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/travel/quarantine/hotspots-covid-19

To book a COVID-19 test, contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 1800 490 484 or book online at https://covid19appointment.nt.gov.au/test

The Chief Health Officer will continue to review and assess the COVID-19 situation across Australia, and will take into account COVID-19 monitoring and data collection, the extent of community transmission and risks to the NT community.

The risk of COVID-19 in our communities cannot be eliminated which is why it is important for everyone to follow all health directions.

• Book your COVID-19 vaccine
• If you have symptoms, stay away from others and get tested for COVID-19.
• Wash your hands with soap and water and use hand sanitiser regularly.
• Do not go to work if you feel sick.
• Maintain a physical distance of 1.5 metres where possible. 

Quotes attributable to Chief Health Officer, Dr Hugh Heggie

“The COVID-19 situation in Victoria is a constantly changing and we need to be responsive to that.

“This is about risk to Territorians. We are dealing with the Delta strain of COVID-19, which has a very short infectivity time, so we need to act quickly in our decision making to protect Territorians.

“The Bass Coast Shire Council has been declared a hotspot for the purposes of travel backdated to the 12 July 2021. This date aligns with when those people with COVID-19 were infectious in the community. We need to stop those people who have been in that area from coming to the Territory.”