Media Releases

COVID 19 UPDATE

27 March 2020

State Emergency Management Committee

APY is intent on doing all it can to secure its borders and keep vulnerable Anangu safe.

To help keep coronavirus out of our communities, APY has asked for a North West presence in State
Emergency Management planning.

SA Police has responded positively by forming the Remote and Vulnerable Communities Sub
Committee. This has been established under the Emergency Management Act, which feeds directly
into State Emergency Management planning.

APY is working with the State Emergency Management Committee to ensure:

• Extra doctors and nurses are based on the APY Lands, while ensuring health workers are not arriving from COVID-19 hotspots.

• Suitable accommodation is identified for additional health workers on the APY Lands in empty houses and at Yulara/Marla.

• There are suitable isolation places for people who need to self-isolate on the APY Lands or at Yulara/Marla.

• Airstrips are ready for 24/7 evacuations of seriously ill COVID-19 victims.

• Regular food supplies are maintained.

• Cold storage is available on the APY Lands.

The Biosecurity Act is in force now. You must stay where you are and only travel if you are getting
food from your community store or visiting a health clinic for regular medicines/check-ups.

APY will continue to work with SA Police under the Biosecurity Act to make sure no persons, not even
Anangu, enters the APY Lands unless they are providing an essential service or on approved
compassionate grounds

MEDIA STATEMENT: APY to cut off from the rest of the nation

24 March 2020

The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, in South Australia’s far northwest, will be subject to
further isolation measures to secure its borders and keep vulnerable Anangu safe.

The time has come for APY to implement a blanket shutdown of APY communities from today.

APY was the first Indigenous body in Australia to earlier this month introduce strict new rules for entry into
its lands in response to the pandemic.

APY General Manager Richard King said the COVID 19 pandemic has given rise to unprecedented
circumstances with immediate and potentially fatal consequences for APY Lands residents, who have welldocumented poor health and living conditions.

The decision to completely shut APY’s borders across three states follows an announcement by South
Australian Premier Steven Marshall, who has responsibility for Aboriginal affairs, to shut the state’s
borders.

APY leaders have been working with government authorities, Aboriginal health agencies and community
groups to ensure the threat of coronavirus is minimised in what are some of the world's most vulnerable
communities.

From 4pm on Tuesday, March 24 the APY Lands will implement strict border controls for all access points,
including road and air.

Any essential service providers that hold a permit to enter the APY Lands will be required to quarantine and
not have contact with Anangu while on the lands.

There will be exemptions of entry to the lands for health, emergency services and policing personnel, with
strict guidelines in place to monitor and manage this.

APY are consulting with essential service providers to ensure their workforce requirements can be met
while guaranteeing community safety for this period.

Mr King said Anangu and the health of Anangu comes first.

APY is continuing to advocate for government help to prepare isolated and remote communities for the
pandemic.

There have been no known COVID-19 cases among APY Lands residents to date, but the Prime Minister has
expressed concern about the vulnerability of those in remote Indigenous communities, including the APY
Lands.

During the 2009 A(H1N1) swine flu outbreak, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 11 per
cent of all identified cases, 20 per cent of hospitalisations and 13 per cent of deaths. Indigenous people are
8.5 times more likely to be hospitalised during a virus outbreak.

Please keep up to date on PY Media and 5NPY Radio at: www.pymedia.org.au

APY also directs you to SA Health at: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au

People wishing to enter the lands can access information at: www.anangu.com.au

Follow APY on Facebook at APY Lands - Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara and on Twitter at
@APY_Lands

For further information, please contact Richard King on 0401 124 876.

For further media enquiries contact Michael Owen on 0400 042 214.

For all APY Media queries please contact
Michael Owen at www.owenmediarelations.com.au

APY Lands Access Update

The APY Executive Board met on Monday the 16^th March, 2020 to discuss the current COVID-19 situation and entry to the APY Lands.

The Board have provided you with their most recent decisions on these matters;

• The Board encourages all Anangu to stay at home and to not travel across the APY, Ngaanyatjarra and Northern Territory communities until further notice.

• Anangu must not be encouraged to attend large gatherings, funerals and cultural events.

• Access to the APY Lands from outside agencies and visitors will be restricted to Essential travel only.

• Permits, police check and statutory declarations are still required before granting entry to those deemed as Essential services.

• Anyone who is feeling sick with a cold or flu like symptoms, must stay at home and if it continues to get worse, please make contact with the clinic.

• APY continues to work with our stakeholders on a daily and ongoing basis, to develop a holistic approach across the APY lands.  More information and updates will be released as it comes to hand.

Kind Regards,

Mr Richard King

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara

General Manager

A body corporate constituted by the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act 1981 (SA)