Chief Minister Michael Gunner says he won't be abandoning the NT's coronavirus vaccine mandate, despite several unvaccinated police officers being allowed to return to work while waiting for the result of a legal challenge.
South Australia last week dropped its requirement for police officers to get the jab, days before a Supreme Court challenge was due to be heard.
The territory's wide-ranging vaccine mandate will face a separate challenge in the NT Supreme Court later this year.
Mr Gunner said he was "confident" it would be successfully defended.
"We're confident in our mandate and the laws around it,” Mr Gunner said.
"As we protect ourselves against the current variant and any future variant, the vaccine is the strongest form of protection."
It is mandatory for workers in the NT who may come into contact with vulnerable people or are employed at high-risk sites, such as police officers, to be fully vaccinated.
However, Mr Gunner confirmed several NT Police officers who faced forced retirement when the mandate came into effect last year were now back at work.
The Chief Minister said these officers needed to be "stood back up" while forced retirements were challenged in court.
"Once that's resolved – I don't want to presume the response – but once that's resolved in supporting our mandate, then it goes back to what it was," Mr Gunner said.
NT Police has been contacted for comment.
COVID hospitalisations stable, Big Rivers outbreak grows
There was one COVID-related death reported in the NT today, a man in his 60s who died at Royal Darwin Hospital.
In a statement, the NT government said the man had "underlying health conditions" but did not specify when he died.
The territory has now recorded 30 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The number of people with COVID-19 in territory hospitals has today dropped slightly to 45, down from 47 on Monday.
Twelve people are on oxygen and one is in the intensive care.
The NT recorded 437 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest reporting period, slightly below the territory’s rolling seven-day average of 447.
In the Big Rivers region, where an indoor mask mandate remains in place, 66 new cases were reported.
It is the second highest daily caseload for the region reported in the past week.
The NT government is still yet to set an end date for the region's mask mandate.
"We're looking at that very, very closely," Mr Gunner said.
