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Tomorrow's Tiwi Islands football Grand Final will go ahead, but will be restricted to local spectators only because of coronavirus concerns, authorities have said.
Key points:
- The grand final is one of the biggest annual events in the NT
- Visitors cannot attend but local spectators are still being allowed to go
- The restriction has been implemented to protect Indigenous communities from infection risks
The Tiwi Islands Football League Grand Final is a premier sporting and cultural highlight in the NT calendar, attracting fans from across the territory and interstate.
The NT's executive director of township leasing, Pennie Weedon, said public health risks had prompted the entry restriction.
"Regrettably, due to the risk to public health currently posed by the potential spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus the Grand Final will be restricted to local residents only," a statement from Mrs Weedon's office said.
"The decision to restrict access has been requested by the Traditional Owners who are concerned about protecting their elders and others who are vulnerable due to health conditions."
It comes after the NT's acting chief health officer, Dianne Stephens, said all "non-essential" travel to remote Indigenous communities should be cancelled.
The restriction of entry is in place across the island this weekend.
Thousands of visitors from the Australian mainland were expected to start their journey to the island via ferry and flights today.
The event also sees one of the country's largest Indigenous art fairs.
AFL NT officials, support staff and accredited media are exempt from the restrictions.
The Tiwi Regional Council said the decision was made to be "cautious and considerate".
An AFL NT spokeswoman said four staff will be sent to Tiwi to umpire the match.
"The staff will sign a stat dec stating they do not believe they are ill, and they will also go through a fever temperature check at Darwin airport before they go", they said.
The event was expected to draw several thousand visitors.
Spectators were also banned from this weekend's AFLW game in Alice Springs.
Topics: sport, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, community-and-society, indigenous-culture, tiwi-0810, nt, darwin-0800, australia
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