Indigenous groups are calling for urgent support from the federal government and military, saying the Northern Territory's COVID-19 pandemic response had failed.
Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT warns there is a growing emergency in the territory with outbreaks in multiple remote and vulnerable communities where vaccination rates are low.
Spokesman John Paterson says there are not health workers on the ground and local health centre staff are exhausted and at breaking point.
Rapid antigen tests are also in short supply and staff and community members are not being tested.
"The result is that infected individuals are not being identified and are spreading the virus undetected," Mr Paterson said on Wednesday.
NT virus response teams are also struggling to transport and isolate infected people and they are "being left to isolate in overcrowded and inadequate accommodation".
"We need to see infected people rapidly moved into adequate, supported isolation accommodation," Mr Paterson said.
The peak organisation called on the territory and federal governments to quickly provide more health workers and free RATs.
Mr Paterson said the labour shortage had slowed the remote vaccination rollout in communities with Aboriginal-controlled health organisations.
"A surge workforce is urgently needed to deal with the current crisis," he said.
Mr Paterson also raised concerns over "a looming food security crisis" due to supply chain issues.
"This is the time, when the essential elements of the COVID response are faltering, to enlist the direct support of the commonwealth and defence force to assist in critical areas of the response," he said.
It comes a day after the NT government reported outbreaks in remote Indigenous communities from Arnhem Land to central Australia.
Among the newly infected were eight people in Utopia, 240km north of Alice Springs, where the vaccination rate was about 40 per cent.
Ten also tested positive in the nearby communities of Areyonga and Papunya, and one case was detected in Bulla, about 370km south of Darwin.
Eight cases were also detected in Galiwin'ku, 515km east of Darwin in East Arnhem, bringing the cluster on Elcho Island to 27.
Nine cases were diagnosed in Yuendumu, 295km northwest of Alice Springs, bringing the total number of infections there to 66.
The virus has also reached the community of Alyangula on Groote Eylandt, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, where one infection was detected.
Dozens of new cases have also been detected in an Alice Springs renal hostel, an aged care facility, at the local prison and in town camps.
There were also seven new infections found in Amoonguna just outside the city, bringing the community's cluster to 28 cases.
"Recent outbreaks across different custodial and other centres serving vulnerable populations such as dialysis accommodation and aged care, is further cause for concern and requires urgent action to improve access to testing, isolation and treatment," Mr Paterson said.
About 30 per cent of the territory's 246,500-strong population are Indigenous.
Across the remote communities serviced by NT Health, 77 per cent of residents aged five and over have had one vaccination dose, and 69 per cent are double dosed.
But the figures do not include the 29 communities with Aboriginal-controlled health organisations where vaccination rates are much lower and accurate figure are not made public.
