ACT hospitals are on the cusp of an "amber" alert as Canberra's COVID-19 outbreak grows and more residents require hospitalisation.
Patients infected with the disease took up 15 per cent of the city's hospital beds earlier this week — the highest level recorded during the pandemic.
The ACT's trend COVID-19 ward occupancy rate was lower, at 12 per cent, though this was significantly higher than all other states and territories.
The data, published by the federal Health Department, compares with a national trend of 7 per cent.
National Cabinet says an infection occupancy rate of 15 to 30 per cent of hospital beds is an amber-level clinical scenario.
A rate of more than 30 per cent is classified as a red alert.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the influx of infected patients was "very worrying", though interstate comparisons were not necessarily useful.
She said not all patients with COVID-19 had been hospitalised because of the disease; some people discovered they were infected when they were in hospital for another reason.
Ms Stephen-Smith also said modelling suggested the ACT might have already experienced the worst of this year's influenza season.
The high COVID-19 occupancy rate in ACT hospitals is not an Australian first.
New South Wales hospitals reached similar levels in summer, while the Northern Territory experienced a red alert during its severe outbreak in February.
Health workers 'exhausted' but respite not yet possible
Ms Stephen-Smith said the pressures on Canberra's hospitals were concerning and she was aware of the toll on staff.
"The really difficult thing is the distress our healthcare workers are in, and the absolute exhaustion that we know they're experiencing at the moment," she said.
"This is shared right across the country.
The ACT's health workforce is experiencing record levels of unscheduled absences, as those caring for the sick fall ill themselves.
The minister said many nurses and doctors needed recuperative leave, but the present crisis precluded it for now.
She said it was impossible to predict accurately how the pandemic would evolve in coming months, so it was best to prepare for the situation in Canberra to worsen.
Ms Stephen-Smith urged Canberrans to help reduce the spread of the disease.
That included wearing masks when indoors and near others, staying home when unwell, and testing themselves when they had symptoms.
In the meantime, the government had reduced the number of elective surgeries and specialist clinics in hospitals.
Ms Stephen-Smith said she would consider further changes if needed, such as seconding staff from community health and walk-in centres.
"Where we need to, we will slow down activities … so we can staff the services that are absolutely fundamental: the emergency departments, critical surgeries, intensive care, paediatrics and, of course, our maternity wards."
