Northern Territory Police have issued a further three infringement notices to travellers for failing to not have an exemption in place, prior to arrival as required under the Chief Health Officers Directions.
Two women, aged 24 and 34, and a 40-year-old man travelled separately from Melbourne to Darwin over the weekend, without any exemptions from the Chief Health Officer.
Upon arrival into the Territory, the three individuals were questioned on their whereabouts prior to travelling to the Northern Territory. The 24-year-old woman lied to authorities stating she had been in Brighton a few weeks ago however, later confessed to being in Brighton last week.
Each traveller was issued with infringement fine of $5056. Two travellers have already been sent home on the next available flight and one passenger will stay overnight at the quarantine facility before departing tomorrow on the first available flight.
Incident Controller Sachin Sharma said, “You must have an exemption in place prior to arriving in the Northern Territory if you are travelling from a declared hotspot or exposure sites and you are not an NT resident.
“Authorities are checking each border entry form upon arrival. If you are providing false information about your whereabouts, we will know. If you are expecting to be allowed into the Territory without an exemption, you will not be.
“These directions are in place to keep Territorians safe. If you choose to come to the Territory, you must obey by these rules. The NT Police and other various NT Government agencies at the Territory Emergency Operation Centre have been operating everyday on 24 hour basis since March 2020 to ensure the safety of our community. This is a serious situation and we will continue to enforce CHO directions with a zero tolerance approach.”
For more information on COVID-19, visit www.coronavirus.nt.gov.au
