CANBERRA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The government of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) has been warned against re-opening domestic borders to protect indigenous communities from COVID-19.
The Northern Land Council (NLC) and Central Land Council (CLC), which represent the indigenous people of the NT, recently called for Chief Minister Michael Gunner to keep the NT's borders closed to the rest of Australia until community transmission of coronavirus has been eliminated.
Gunner has previously announced that the NT's borders will be re-opened on July 17.
"Chief Minister Michael Gunner should really be talking to the land councils about reopening the border at a later date because of the hotspots in Melbourne and elsewhere," Samuel Bush-Blanasi, chair of the NLC, said in a joint statement with CLC chair Sammy Wilson on Thursday.
"I'm calling on him to please talk with us and let's consider a better outcome for everyone in the Territory."
Experts have warned that remote indigenous communities could be devastated by COVID-19 because of the high prevalence of respiratory illnesses, overcrowded housing and poor access to healthcare services.
As at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, a total of 7,595 cases have been reported in Australia, including 104 deaths and 6,958 have been reported as recovered from COVID-19, according to the country's Department of Health.
The department also said that the number of new cases in last 24 hours is 37. Of the 37 cases, 30 are in Victoria. Enditem
