A coronavirus cluster at a Darwin aged care centre continued to grow as the NT recorded three new COVID-related deaths and a fall in hospitalisations.
In a statement released today, NT Health said the deaths included a woman in her 70s who died at Alice Springs Hospital and a woman in her 60s from Darwin who died at Royal Darwin Hospital.
The third death was of a man from a remote community in East Arnhem Land, aged in his 60s.
NT Health said all three people had "underlying health conditions".
There have now been 26 COVID-related deaths in the Territory since the pandemic began.
It comes as Darwin's Regis Tiwi aged care centre reported an outbreak at the facility on Thursday.
In a statement, operator Regis said 12 residents and seven staff members at the facility had tested positive for COVID-19.
"We have enacted our Outbreak Management Plan, which includes well-established infection prevention and control measures, zoning of the home, risk mitigation measures and regular communication to our residents, families and employees," the statement said.
"Our employees are completing a rapid antigen test at the start of each shift and wearing personal protective equipment inside the [facility], including N95 face masks and face shields."
NT Health also reported today there are currently 48 people with COVID-19 in NT hospitals, a steep drop on the 76 in hospital on Wednesday.
Of those in hospital, 10 are requiring oxygen and two are in ICU.
There were 559 new COVID-19 cases reported in the 24 hours up to 8pm on Wednesday, including 495 diagnosed from rapid antigen tests, the NT Health statement said.
Of the new cases, 297 were recorded in the Top End, 87 in Central Australia, 38 in East Arnhem, 45 in Big Rivers and 16 in the Barky while 76 are still under investigation.
The NT currently has 3,833 active cases.
NT mask mandate to lift Monday
On Monday, the NT's indoor mask mandate will be lifted. The mandate was introduced on New Year's Eve to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce said he was "pleased" restrictions were easing, but would have preferred the mandate to have ended earlier.
"We would have liked to have seen it lift last Friday," he said.
On Wednesday, the NT government announced the mandate would end and check-in restrictions would ease.
Today, it confirmed a mask mandate would remain in place for the Big Rivers region, with no end date set.
But not everyone's happy about the easing of restrictions.
John Boffa, chief medical officer of public health at Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, described the move as "premature".
"We accept the removal of QR codes, we don't think that's as significant.
"But we have been arguing there's some core public health measures that need to stay in place, one of them being indoor masks."
Dr Boffa urged people to continue wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces and expressed concern hospitalisations could increase in the coming weeks.
"It's very likely that we'll see an increase in cases, an increase in hospitalisations and then an increase in deaths, because of getting rid of one of the most effective public health measures we've got," he said.
Biosecurity zones lifted
At midnight tonight, biosecurity zones limiting movement into and out of remote communities across the Northern Land Council (NLC) footprint will be lifted.
It means people will no longer need an exemption to visit these regions for non-essential reasons, although they will still need a permit from the NLC.
In a statement, the federal Department of Health confirmed these restrictions would "be allowed to lapse" tonight, following discussions with the NT government, land councils and given the state of the territory's current outbreak.
Northern Land Council (NLC) chairman Samuel Bush-Blanasi said the zones had served their purpose after the Territory's reopening.
"Traditional owners and community members wanted to slow down the spread of COVID out bush and give everyone a chance to get their second and third jabs," he said.
"The Biosecurity Zones helped slow things down. They've done their job."
He urged people to continue to follow the Chief Health Officer's directions and not be complacent.
