Northern Territory health authorities have issued a Code Yellow overcrowding alert for Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals, a day after unions called on the government to declare a Code Brown for the entire health system.
The declaration late on Wednesday afternoon came as the NT reported the COVID-related deaths of three women in separate remote communities, the highest number the jurisdiction has reported on a single day.
In an email to hospital staff, executive director Didier Palmer said the alert had been issued due to overcrowding in multiple hospital sections.
Mr Palmer said the Code Yellow triggered the postponement of category-two and category-three elective surgery, the activation of an emergency response group and case management "of all patients close to discharge … to navigate any blocks to process".
It is the fifth Code Yellow emergency declared in the hospital system in the past 12 months.
Dr Palmer thanked hospital staff for their "expertise, dedication and patience in these difficult times".
"I know there are many who are fatigued, so please support and be kind to each other as we work to get through this and care for our patients," Dr Palmer wrote.
Three COVID-related deaths, slight drop in hospitalisations
Earlier, health authorities reported three additional COVID-related deaths in the Northern Territory, including two women in their 40s and a woman in her 70s, all of whom lived in remote communities.
There have now been 13 COVID-19-related deaths in the Territory since the start of the pandemic.
In a statement, NT Health said one woman, in her 40s, was from a remote community in the Barkly region and died on February 4 at Alice Springs Hospital.
A second person, also a woman in her 40s, was from a remote community in Central Australia and died at Alice Springs Hospital on February 11.
The third person, a woman in her 70s from a remote community in the Big Rivers region, died on February 13 at Katherine Regional Hospital.
NT Health said all three people had "underlying health conditions".
Three is the highest number of deaths to be reported in the Northern Territory on a single day.
There have now been 13 COVID-19-related deaths in the Territory since the start of the pandemic.
The Northern Territory also announced today another 1,050 new cases of COVID-19, including 956 that were from a positive rapid antigen test (RAT).
There are now 143 patients with COVID-19 in hospital, with 25 people requiring oxygen and one in ICU.
On Tuesday 156 patients were hospitalised, with one in intensive care and 22 in need of oxygen.
Of today's 1,050 new cases, 616 are in the Top End, 167 in Central Australia, 107 in East Arnhem, 28 in the Big Rivers region, 45 in the Barkly and 87 are under investigation.
There are currently 7,104 active cases in the Northern Territory.
Chief Minster rejects call for Code Brown
On Wednesday morning Chief Minister Michael Gunner rejected calls from the Australian Medical Association's NT branch to declare a "Code Brown" alert for every public hospital in the Territory.
A Code Brown alert is the highest-level emergency response that can be declared in an Australian public hospital.
The Australian Nursing and Midwives Federation NT Branch supported the call, but Mr Gunner said it would be an overreaction.
Mr Gunner said, as he understood it, the unions were calling for a Code Brown "to send a message of support to the people who are working in our hospitals".
"We know they're working very hard but you don't do declarations of codes as public messaging," he said.
Mr Gunner said there was only one person in intensive care with the virus, and said the number of people in need of oxygen was "declining".
"We have got a more-conservative approach [than other states] as to who we're clinically admitting into our hospitals and how long we're keeping them in hospital," he said.
Mr Gunner said around 2 per cent of active cases needed hospitalisation in the NT, a number which had been "consistent" throughout the outbreak.
The Chief Minister also said around 12 per cent of patients attending Royal Darwin Hospital, the NT's largest facility, tested positive to COVID-19 but presented for other concerns.
"We have a lot of people in our hospitals in hospital with COVID not from COVID," he said.
"All our current plans around aggressive suppression and dealing with COVID are working."
Mr Gunner announced a pause to elective and day surgery at the start of the month.
He said the NT was now "post-peak" of its COVID-19 outbreak and added that neither the Territory's Chief Health Officer nor the Health Department's chief executive officer had requested a Code Brown to be declared.
"We need to push through the next couple of weeks. Everyone is doing a huge amount of work and we respect that," he said.
The NT Department of Health has been contacted for comment.
