NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles has defended recent changes to the territory's border rules that allow unvaccinated travellers free entry and scrap border passes, saying they will allow police and health resources to be "better focused" where they are needed most.
Ms Fyles said the changes, quietly introduced on Friday afternoon, were made after a Security and Emergency Management Sub-committee of Cabinet (SEMC) meeting and they had the backing of health experts.
"We're now at a different point with COVID," Ms Fyles said.
"Omicron is now widespread in the territory, and so this is around making sure the measures that we have in place aren't simply just there for the sake of it, but actually protect Territorians and place those resources where we need them."
Ms Fyles said only a small number of unvaccinated people attempted to enter the NT.
She also said the territory had a high vaccination rate and public health measures, such as an indoor mask mandate, to keep the community safe.
Ms Fyles said the NT's current vaccine pass system meant unvaccinated travellers were not able to visit licensed venues, cinemas, casinos or ticketed events with large numbers of attendees.
AMA backs calls for 'disaster declaration'
The federal Australian Medical Association (AMA) today backed calls for the NT government to make a "disaster declaration" in Alice Springs.
The territory and federal branches of the AMA are also urging the Commonwealth to "step in" and provide provide safe isolation and quarantine accommodation in Alice Springs.
NT branch president Rob Parker said there was a need for culturally safe crisis accommodation in Central Australia.
"The bulk of the territory's COVID cases are in the Indigenous community and there will be an ongoing need for culturally appropriate supported accommodation throughout the entire duration of the pandemic," he said.
Dr Parker also wants a Code Brown to be declared in all NT hospitals to ease pressure on the health system.
AMA national president Omar Khorshid said the NT was failing its most vulnerable people.
"Omicron will not be the last variant to arrive, and that the accommodation crisis it has caused has not been addressed in scandalous," he said.
The NT and federal governments have been contacted for comment.
Biosecurity zone travel restrictions introduced by the federal government were extended in the Northern Land Council footprint last Thursday, but not in the regions covered by the Central and Tiwi land councils.
In a statement, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the decision was made based on advice from the land councils and NT government.
NT CHO says COVID peak has passed
The number of coronavirus patients in Northern Territory hospitals has dropped slightly, from 127 yesterday, down to 123.
However, the number of patients requiring oxygen has grown from 18 to 21, according to a statement from NT Health.
There are now three people in the intensive care unit.
NT Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie said he believed the NT's Omicron outbreak peaked on around February 12.
In total, 627 new COVID-19 cases have been announced in the NT today, of which 583 came from positive rapid antigen tests (RATs).
There were 422 cases recorded in the Top End region, 89 in Central Australia, 36 in East Arnhem, 25 in the Big Rivers region, 17 in the Barkly region and 38 are under investigation.
The Northern Territory's COVID-19 death toll stands at 15, after the death of a Tennant Creek woman was reported yesterday.
"Our lives lost to COVID are actually remarkably low," Dr Heggie said.
The number of active cases in the NT is about 6,106, NT Health said in a statement.
