The Northern Territory has recorded one new locally acquired case of COVID-19, on day two of the three-day snap coronavirus restrictions in Darwin and Katherine.
The new case is a 21-year old woman who arrived in Darwin from Cairns on 29 October, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said on Saturday.
Mr Gunner said the woman, who has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, became symptomatic on Saturday.
He said she was being interviewed, and contact tracing had commenced.
“There may be more exposure sides for Darwin so it is critical that everybody in the Top End pays very careful attention to these and looks for updates throughout the day. We will communicate these as soon as we can,” he told reporters.
The woman is a close contact of the initial case in the current outbreak, an unvaccinated man in his 20s.
The outbreak is now at three cases, after an unvaccinated 55-year-old man tested positive in Katherine on Friday.
The source of the outbreak remains unknown.
"We need to do further genomic testing to see if we can make other connections with cases around Australia," deputy chief health officer Charles Pain said.
The tightened restrictions in Darwin and Katherine are scheduled to end at midnight on Sunday, however Mr Gunner has warned they could be extended if the situation deteriorates.
The Darwin restrictions have been termed a 'lock-out'. Fully vaccinated people are required to wear a face mask but can otherwise continue life as normal.
Mr Gunner said the outbreak was at a critical stage and test results from 80 close contacts who are isolating would help provide answers to when the restrictions will end.
"We haven't yet seen any spread beyond the very close contacts and that's good news, but there are still too many unknowns," he said.
