The following is a back translation of the Pandemic Plan video (Yolŋu matha version). The Plain English video is available here. The script for the videos was based on the Nhulunbuy District Coronavirus Outbreak Plan Summary, available here. This plain English script was developed with Yolŋu language workers and linguists, and approved by the Government.

This is the plan to protect people if someone gets coronavirus in the Miwatj region This video will explain what will happen if someone gets sick with COVID-19 in the Nhulunbuy District region, which Yolŋu call the Miwatj region. The Northern Territory Government, working with the Land Councils, the Aboriginal Medical Services Associated of the NT - AMSANT, and local organisations, has made a plan about how to protect Yolŋu and Balanda if someone brings coronavirus to the Miwatj region / Nhulunbuy District region. This video will explain this plan, which is called the ‘Nhulunbuy District Local Pandemic Plan’. This plan is a good pathway to protect everyone from coronavirus when people are not vaccinated. If everyone in East gets the COVID-19 vaccine, we might not have to follow this plan. This plan is for everyone staying in Nhulunbuy, , Gunyaŋara, Birritjimi or nearby homelands. These homelands include , Barraratjpi, Barrkira, Bawaka, Birany Birany, Birritjimi, Bukuḏal, Buymarr, Dhälinybuy, Dhaniya, Dhoḻtji, Djarrakpi, Galupa, Garrthalala, Gikal, Gurkawuy, Gurrumuru, Gutjaŋan, Maḻarrami, Maṯa Maṯa, Muthamul, Rorruwuy, Rurraŋala, Waṉḏawuy, Yäŋunbi, Nyinyikay and Yuḏu Yuḏu. What will the sick person do? If doctors find someone sick in Nhulunbuy township, or in Yirrkala, or in Gunyaŋara, or in any of the homelands, the first thing that will happen, is the sick person will be taken to Gove District Hospital. Then they will be taken to Royal Darwin Hospital. This is stop them spreading the virus to more people, and so that they get taken care of by doctors. What will happen to the people the sick person has been near? Then health staff will start ‘contact tracing’. This means they will try to find all the people the sick person usually stays with, and any other people they have been close to in the past few days. Health workers call people who have been close to a person sick with coronavirus, ‘close contacts’. They will ask many people questions to find the ‘close contacts’. They will ask things like who that sick person lives with, where they have gone recently, and who they have visited.

All of these ‘close contacts’ will be taken to Nhulunbuy to stay together for a few hours, like the Nhulunbuy Town Hall or somewhere else. Then they will be taken to the quarantine centre in Howard Springs near Darwin, or to hospital if they are sick. They will stay in Howard Springs for at least two weeks, and workers will bring them food, medication and whatever else they need. If they get sick while they are there, they will also get taken to hospital. What will happen to everyone else? As soon as health workers know someone in the region is sick with coronavirus, some people will be told to stay at home. There are two different ‘staying at home’ pathways that will be followed for people in this Miwatj region / Nhulunbuy District region. One pathway is called ‘lockdown’ and the other is called ‘community quarantine’. When people are in ‘lockdown’, they will stay at home most of the time. They will only leave their house once or twice per day. When people are in community quarantine, they will stay at home all the time – all day and night. People in Nhulunbuy will only ever follow the ‘lockdown’ pathway. People in Yirrkala, Gunyaŋara or homelands in this Nhulunbuy District region might follow a ‘lockdown’ pathway or a ‘community quarantine’ pathway at different times. Now we will tell you more about the ‘lockdown’ and ‘community quarantine’ pathways. Community Quarantine If someone in Yirrkala or Gunyaŋara gets a test to find out if they have COVID-19, and the test says yes, they do have that COVID sickness, everyone living in that place will go into ‘community quarantine’. For example, if a sick person is in Gunyaŋara, everyone who normally lives in Gunyaŋara will be told to stay inside their homes for two weeks or longer. Gunyaŋara residents will stay inside their homes all day and night. You can sit outside in your yard, but you can’t go outside of it. This means you can’t visit family, go to the shop, drive to another community or homeland, and so on. This is a very difficult pathway. But it will help prevent many people from getting very sick or dying. The police, army and many health workers will come to the community and work with Yolŋu organisations to help everyone through this difficult time. Food, drink, medicine and other things like cigarettes will be brought to houses. Health staff with Yolŋu workers will test everyone for coronavirus. Workers will plan how to help sick and older people to stay safe. At the same time, everyone else in the Nhulunbuy District region – people in Yirrkala, Nhulunbuy and homelands – might also be told to go into lockdown. This is to keep everyone in those places safe and to give workers time to find all the people who might be sick with the virus.

If a person with coronavirus is found in a homeland, first that homeland will go into lockdown for three days. After three days, two pathways could happen. The Government might tell that homeland to stay in Community Quarantine. But this might be too hard to do at some homelands, like if it is quite far from a community. If it is too hard, everyone in that homeland will be taken by plane to stay at the Howard Springs quarantine centre. During this time, everyone else in this hulunbuy District region will go into lockdown. For more information about Community Quarantine, watch this video in Yolŋu matha here: visit https://vimeo.com/516531547. Lockdown If someone in Nhulunbuy gets a test to find out if they have COVID-19, and the test says yes, that person has that COVID sickness, everyone in Nhulunbuy, as well as everyone in Yirrkala, Gunyaŋara, and all the homelands, will go into ‘lockdown’. Lockdown means everyone will stay at home for most of the day and night. People can only leave their house for the reasons given by the Government: for example to get food or medicine, to do essential work, to exercise, or to take care of someone who needs help. If there is a lockdown, there will be information shared about the lockdown rules, on Facebook and Radio. Lockdown will go for three days, and maybe longer. In the first three days of lockdown, health workers will be trying to find anyone who has been recently living with that first person who has the COVID-19 sickness, and anyone who has been sitting or standing close to that person in the last few days. Because there are so many houses in Nhulunbuy, it would be too hard for police and health workers to help everyone in Nhulunbuy if they have to stay inside all day and night. The other reason that Nhulunbuy will follow a lockdown pathway, not a Community Quarantine pathway, is that if Nhulunbuy is in lockdown, important services like the Woolworths and hospital will still be open. So people in Yirrkala, Gunyaŋara, and homelands will still be allowed to travel to Nhulunbuy if they need to go shopping or go to the hospital. They won’t be allowed to travel to Nhulunbuy if they are in Community Quarantine, though.

Get a COVID vaccine Lockdown and Community Quarantine will help stop the spread of COVID-19 sickness. It will save lives and stop the virus from spreading all over Arnhem Land. But staying at home for a few days or weeks will be a very hard pathway. And some people will still get sick. Getting vaccinated is the best way you can protect your family and yourself from getting very sick with COVID-19. Now is the time get the vaccine from your clinic, before Arnhem Land is faced with this lockdown and quarantine pathway.

For more information about the vaccine in Yolŋu matha, listen to Yolŋu Radio or go to https://vimeo.com/563113467. Watch this video with your family so you can make a good decision. Buy food and supplies If your community or homeland goes into lockdown, you are still allowed to go to the shops, once or twice a day. But you will be safer not going to the shops too much, because there will be lots of people there and you might get sick. It is a good idea to think about buying some things to help you stay at home for a few days without going to the shop. Social distancing We all need to start following that physical distancing and hand-washing pathway again. If we do this when the virus comes, it will stop some people from getting sick. - Wash your hands with soap often, a few times a day. - Stand 1.5m away from people, unless you live with them. Don’t give handshakes or hugs.

For more information about coronavirus, listen to Yolŋu Radio 88.9FM, or visit coronavirus.nt.gov.au.