‘We’ve seen it in the movies but we didn’t ever expect to see it’: National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre boss talks COVID-19, repatriating Aussies in the NT

EXCLUSIVE: As the Territory commitment to quarantining repatriated Australians hits the halfway mark, the NT News sat down with the key people leading the initiative. The first repatriation flight from the UK landed in Darwin on October 23 last year. Passengers from New Delhi came next and the program was then expanded to Frankfurt, Paris, Chennai and there has been one flight from Cape Town. Drivers charged and cars seized for alleged hooning, road damage Non-drinking venues open to discussing Mitchell St Mall idea Pedestrian dies after being hit by THREE cars on Stuart Hwy The 15th flight landed at 8am on Friday from Chennai, bringing the current total of people in residence at the Howard Springs Centre to 682. In February last year, the Howard Springs quarantine facility was first used to quarantine Australian evacuees from virus epicentre Wuhan, and a week later passengers stuck on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. It was then that NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles, National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre executive director Len Notaras, and all of Australia, knew how important a role Howard Springs would play in the nation’s response to coronavirus. “The care that’s provided in the infection control is the highest level that you can get in terms of just from the disembarking off the plane through that RAAF side out to the facility, and the care that’s provided in such a potentially infectious environment — it’s almost purpose-built,” Ms Fyles said. “It’s not just an Australian standard. We actually set the standard for the World Health Organisation,” Professor Notaras said. Despite decades in health, Prof Notaras could never have anticipated the destruction of the coronavirus crisis. “We’ve seen it in the movies but we didn’t ever expect to see it,” he said. So far, more than 30,000 meals have been prepared, 11,000 outbound calls made by Telehealth to check on residents’ wellbeing and 8000 clinical consultations performed. More than 5000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted while 70 staff have rapid antigen testing daily. There has also been 400 polymerise chain reaction tests done to date. Concerns have been raised about staff at Howard Springs contracting the virus, after quarantine workers in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales were diagnosed. However, Prof Notaras said the elite training of Australian Medical Assistance Teams professionals leading the Howard Springs effort ensured not a single staffer had contracted COVID-19. “You train them within an inch of their life almost,” he said. “Some of our people have dealt with ebola, right through to what we’re dealing with at the moment. “We treat everybody that we deal with as being symptomatic … we don’t actually shy away from being very strict in what we do and that’s what sets AUSMAT apart and why all of the states and the other Territory look to us.” NT NEWS sizzling new deal: Get all your news for just $5 a month With new mutations of the virus surfacing, one of the most recent being B117 in the UK, questions have been raised about whether these repatriation flights should stop from areas with the variant. Prof Notaras said mutations were always expected and should not be a deterrent from repatriating Australians desperate to get home. “(We need) vigilance rather than concern,” he said. “We’ve got to maintain that vigilance and never become relaxed. “I think that’s the key to it. This is something we have to treat with caution.” raphaella.saroukos@news.com.au