While Territorians continue to follow the ever-changing mandates to stop the spread of COVID in communities, residents in the Barkly are feeling the frustration over a lack of information about cases and vaccination rates in the region and long waits for test results.

Barkly MLA Steve Edgington said Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s government still refuses to tell Barkly residents what the vaccination rate for Tennant Creek is.

“How can the Gunner Government expect to increase vaccination rates in remote areas without a plan, without proper communication and while reducing health services at the same time?” said Mr Edgington.

“The Gunner Government needs to go back to providing daily updates for people in the Barkly and across the Territory. They need to be open and transparent about the real situation.”

Mr Edgington paid tribute to the amazing work going across the Barkly by the Northern Territory Police, NT Health and Aboriginal corporations, Barkly Regional Council and all front-line workers.

“I have no doubt there are positive casein the Barkly, so please to reduce the risk of spreading COVID in the communities, it is important for everyone to follow all health directions,” he said.

As of 8pm on 12 January, there were 550 new cases of COVID recorded Territory wide, taking the number of active cases to around 3,000.

No details of where the cases were recorded were released.

The Tennant Times contacted the office of the Minister for Health, Natasha Fyles, for detailed regional numbers but did not receive a response at time of publication.

This article appeared in the Tennant & District Times, 14 January 2022.