A 65 year old male at the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility returned a low positive COVID-19 test today, having previously recovered from COVID-19. 
 
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 has been taken to Royal Darwin Hospital and is in isolation as a precaution and will continue to be tested over the coming days. 
 
This case shows that our Northern Territory COVID-19 response is working and highlights the quality of our infection control measures in mandatory supervised quarantine.  
 
This is not considered to be a new COVID-19 case. The Northern Territory’s COVID-19 case numbers remain at 34.