The Northern Territory has reported 1004 new COVID-19 cases as hospitals cancel elective surgery to make room for more virus patients.
More infected Territorians were admitted to hospital overnight, bring the total number of COVID-19 patients to 148 on Friday, up from 141 a day earlier.
More than a dozen of these require oxygen and six "are really sick receiving acute care in an (intensive care unit)", Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.
"These are the people we are seriously worried about."
Mr Gunner warned the number of infected patients in intensive care would "rise over the next few days".
"For this reason in line with other jurisdictions we are pausing elective and day surgery in our hospitals to help our clinicians manage the current COVID cases and prepare for a potential increase in the next few weeks," he said.
Mr Gunner also called out "people, some with very loud voices, who would like you to think that every case of COVID is a catastrophe and everybody should be taken out of their home and put into a hospital".
"Their heart is in the right place but a response like that would be the medical equivalent of panic buying."
The number of active cases in the territory is 7094, with Mr Gunner saying, "at least those are the ones that we know about".
"There are no doubt more than that."
The NT reported 1217 new infections on Wednesday and 1279 on Thursday, after that day's case total was revised up from the earlier announced 977 cases.
Two people have also died in recent days bring the territory's virus death toll to four.
