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ABC News

Health

Alicia Perera

NT brings in outdoor mask mandate, as Territory COVID-19 hospital admissions rise to new peak of 111

NT Territory Natasha Fyles Alice Springs

Northern Territory Health Minister Natasha Fyles. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)

The number of people in Northern Territory hospitals with COVID-19 has reached a new peak of 111, as the NT government introduces a seven-day outdoor mask mandate to combat rising coronavirus case numbers.

Of the 111 people now in Territory hospitals, 10 patients are receiving oxygen and five are in intensive care, Health Minister Natasha Fyles said on Saturday.

She also said the NT had recorded 828 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours up to 8pm on Friday.

Of those, 648 were recorded from rapid antigen tests while the remainder came from PCR tests.

There are now 4,650 active cases of COVID-19 in the NT.

"We're seeing case numbers right across the Northern Territory. COVID is in every region," Ms Fyles said.

"We're seeing large numbers of people that are asymptomatic, they're feeling mildly unwell and they're able to be cared for at home."

Ms Fyles said case numbers seemed to be rising as people returned to the Territory from interstate in the lead-up to schools going back this week.

She also announced that Friday's daily case tally had been revised up from 940 to 1,006, after the addition of more positive RAT test results.

Last week, the NT government began revising up daily COVID case totals for the previous day's cases, adding hundreds of cases to both Wednesday and Thursday's figures.

Outdoor mask mandate introduced

Ms Fyles said from 6pm on Saturday, a seven-day outdoor mask mandate would come into effect across the Territory.

The new mandate will apply to people aged 12 and over outdoors whenever they cannot maintain a 1.5 distance from others, but will not apply while exercising.

The NT-wide indoor mask mandate remains in place.

The new mandate means people will need wear masks outdoors when they can't keep 1.5m away from others. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

Ms Fyles said the outdoor mask mandate had been introduced in response to growing COVID-19 case numbers in the NT.

"This is just considering we've seen a large increase in those new cases, which we largely attribute to the end of the school holidays and that higher number of interstate arrivals," she said.

"We really want to get our case numbers back down to that average what we were seeing, [that] around 450 [cases] seven-day average."

Deputy Chief Health Officer Jacqui Murdoch said the outdoor mask mandate was aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Several communities exit lockdown

Ms Fyles also said lockdowns in Gunyangara (Ski Beach), Wurrumiyanga on the Tiwi Islands and Utopia in Central Australia ended at 2pm on Saturday as scheduled.

Ampilatwatja, Milikapiti and Elcho Island (including Galiwin'ku) remain in lockdown, while lockouts are still in place in Alice Springs, Amoonguna, Yuendumu and Yuelamu.

Ms Fyles said authorities would decide in the morning whether lockdown or lockout restrictions in some other communities could be lifted.

"We certainly haven't ruled out further measures, or further changes going forward," she said.

'Significant increase' in cases at Alice Springs prison, Milingimbi

Ms Fyles said case numbers at the Alice Springs prison had jumped in the latest reporting period, with 154 new cases recorded there on Friday.

There are now a total of 274 cases at the facility.

The rise in cases came after a testing team was sent into the prison to test everyone for COVID-19, Ms Fyles said.

She said she understood all of the 154 people who tested positive yesterday were asymptomatic, though she couldn't say if any had been taken to hospital.

The full vaccination rate at the prison stands at 86 per cent.

Ms Fyles also said there had been 22 new cases recorded in Milingimbi in Arnhem Land.

"Our officials are just working through what assistance they will need in this situation, so we can provide them with support and resources," she said.

She said health authorities were also working with Wadeye after the community recorded its first COVID-19 case yesterday.