NT Covid chief health officer fights mask apathy as cases rise

Hospitalisations have continued to creep closer to what the NT experienced at the peak of the last Covid outbreak, as authorities urge residents to mask up in public.

UPDATED, FRI JULY 22: Hospitalisations with the hyper-infectious Omicron BA. 5 strain continue to climb, with three people now in ICU with the virus.

Eighty-one people have been hospitalised after 523 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours.

It is an increase of 11 in hospital and two extra people in ICU compared to Thursday, July 21.

The number of active cases has now climbed to 3659.

NT Health is calling on showgoers to mask up when they attend this weekend, even in outdoor settings.

“Face masks are recommended to be worn in indoor areas and outdoors when you can’t maintain a distance of 1.5 metres,” the post read.

An attendee took to Facebook to share an observation about a general lack of mask wearing on the first day of the show.

“Took my kids yesterday, we were masked up the whole time and saw maybe ten other people in total wearing masks at the fairly busy Show, so I won’t be surprised by the spike in case numbers next week,” Lori Maticore said.

“People just don’t care about record hospitalisations and the capacity for care being overwhelmed and won’t do the right thing without a mandate.”

GRIM MASK WARNING AS HOSPITALISATIONS CLIMB

TERRITORIANS have been warned to not become apathetic as a new variant dominates a surging Covid outbreak.

Acting chief health officer Dr Charles Pain said there had been a rapid rise in cases across the Territory, with 60 per cent estimated to be the highly infectious BA 5.

“We are experiencing a significant rise in cases over the last few days,” Dr Pain said.

“And a significant rise in hospitalisation.”

It comes as Secure NT confirms a further 642 cases in the past 24 hours across the Territory, bringing the number of infected people to 3510.

Health officials said 68 people were in hospital, with one in intensive care on Wednesday.

Dr Pain said his previous calls to Territorians to once again don their masks had been ignored.

“People haven’t responded in the way needed to have an impact,” he said.

He said the limited mask uptake was concerning, saying a mask mandate was always an option but not the current advice from health experts.

Dr Pain repeated calls for masks to be worn to protect vulnerable Territorians, which include the elderly and immunocompromised people.

“You are protecting yourself … but I’m asking you to wear a mask to protect other people,” Dr Pain said.

“Don’t feel embarrassed to wear a mask, be proud because you are protecting other people.

“We do now have to do this.”

Dr Pain suggested bringing a mask to major events like the Darwin Show, Darwin Festival and other outdoor events.

He said the scale of the events meant people could not maintain the required 1.5m space to reduce the risk of infection.

Dr Pain said the school holidays and the return to school could be contributing to the spike.

He said many people would already be infected without realising it, with an estimated 20 per cent of Territorians carrying Covid.

Dr Pain said the number of hospital staff infected with Covid or the flu was “high”, and was putting an additional strain on the health system.

Acting chief health officer Charles Pain. Picture: Floss Adams

He said the current hospitalisation numbers mirrored the recent BA 2 spike, which was also referred to as the ‘stealth Omicron’ variant.

To date 54 Territorians have died as a result of having a Covid infection.

Dr Pain again repeated calls to get vaccinated and congratulated Territorians for stepping up for their boosters.

He said there had been a three- to fourfold increase in people getting boosted since eligibility changed.

Dr Pain said while the vaccines could not prevent infection, they had been proven to reduce the severity of the disease.

“Vaccines aren’t perfect, but they have enabled us … to get our liberty back,” he said.

He told vulnerable Territorians “to be prepared to get oral antivirals” to protect them for infection.

But Dr Pain warned that it would be a “mistake” to think the oral pills were an alternative to the jab.