A 45-year-old woman from Victoria has become the first person in the Northern Territory to receive an immediate fine for refusing to wear a face mask at the Darwin International Airport.
Key points:
- A woman has been issued a $5,056 fine for refusing to wear a face mask at the Darwin International Airport
- NT Police say she did not provide proof of a medical exemption
- Test and isolate directions have been removed for NSW
In January, the NT’s Chief Health Officer tightened the rules for people entering the Territory and made it mandatory for face masks to be worn at all major NT airports and while on board an aircraft.
At the time he said the rules did not apply to children under the age of 12 and people with a specified medical condition.
In a statement, Incident Controller Acting Commander James A. O’Brien said the woman refused multiple directions from police to put on a face mask and has been issued a $5,056 on-the-spot fine.
ABC News: Felicity James
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The changes came into effect on Saturday at 3pm.
In a statement issued yesterday, Dr Heggie said the test and isolate directions have been revoked “based on the intelligence provided to the Northern Territory”.
But he warned that “personal behaviour” remains the best defence against COVID-19.
“I would like to thank Territorians for their vigilance in getting tested,” he said.
One new case recorded
One new positive case of COVID-19 has been recorded in the Northern Territory, bringing the total to 113.
A four-year-old girl travelling from New Delhi, India, on a repatriation flight which landed on March 25 returned a positive test result but remains asymptomatic.
She is currently under the care of the AUSMAT team at the NT Centre for National Resilience.
A total of 73 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported from international repatriation.
There has been no community transmission of the virus in the NT to date.