A 21-year-old member of the US Marine Corps is taken to hospital after returning a positive coronavirus test. It comes ahead of a military training exercise that will see thousands of military personnel rotate through Darwin by June.

Health authorities say the man was among the first group of about 200 marines to arrive, with soldiers touching down in Darwin on Thursday before entering quarantine at RAAF Base Darwin.

He is asymptomatic but will remain at the Royal Darwin Hospital until he recovers.

While the first two groups of marines will undertake their fortnight of quarantine in accommodation on Defence bases, further groups will be taken to Bladin Village, a privately owned former detention centre outside of Darwin.