A police officer has resigned after breaching COVID-19 border restrictions, as the Northern Territory reports one new case of coronavirus.
The 27-year-old was among a group of five people who crossed the Queensland border into the Territory and he resigned on Saturday.
They failed to complete the required border entry forms when they entered on Monday, police said.
“These actions could have seriously compromised the health and safety of all Territorians,” Deputy Commissioner Murray Smalpage said in a statement.
“What is most disappointing is the action of the former police officer.
“We do not discriminate when it comes to disciplining those who fail to abide rules.”
The former officer was accompanied by a 28-year-old woman and men aged 26, 27 and 29. They were all quarantined along with two close contacts, women aged 19 and 24.
The officer has since started self-isolation and has been slapped with an infringement for contravening an emergency declaration.
On Saturday the Territory reported a fresh COVID-19 diagnosis – that of a woman who arrived on a flight from Melbourne.
She is the partner of a Darwin man who tested positive on Friday, with the couple now under the care of the local health services.
The case takes the total number of COVID-19 infections reported in the NT to 34, all related to international or interstate travel.
The Northern Territory government has said it will employ an extra 100 frontline health workers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The extra staff will allow for ongoing border screening of passengers arriving from interstate and will help manage people in supervised quarantine.
They will also be trained in contact tracing.
“We know there is no vaccine, there is no cure, and COVID-19 has no end date,” Health Minister Natasha Fyles said.
“Our frontline health staff are integral to our response to COVID-19 and they have done an incredible job in trying times.”
Australian Associated Press