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Speaker 1: But Dr Parker, we know that obviously, it was revealed

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Speaker 1: on Friday that from October fourteen, we are going to

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Speaker 1: be in a situation where COVID positive people will no

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Speaker 1: longer be required to isolate for five days at home.

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Speaker 1: What was your reaction to the change.

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Speaker 2: It's a bit of a mixed blessing, Katie. I mean,

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Speaker 2: we've known for a while now that there's probably a

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Speaker 2: lot more COVID than the community that's been actively reported.

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Speaker 2: That's through the reving of the wastewater in Darwin. So apparently,

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Speaker 2: you know, what's officially being reported and what people have

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Speaker 2: actually got doesn't is not consistent. Right, it's out and

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Speaker 2: about in the community. Look, it's still a very dangerous bug.

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Speaker 2: A friend of mine recently almost died from it and

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Speaker 2: he's in his sixties, so it's a significant problem. It's

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Speaker 2: still very dangerous. I understand there are still low vaccination levels,

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Speaker 2: which is a concern. But the fact that obviously it's

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Speaker 2: around that people are people, you know, it's in the community,

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Speaker 2: I mean that maybe it is time to think about

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Speaker 2: a different strategy or IVAMA obviously has got significant concerns

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Speaker 2: because it is still a very dangerous and I suppose

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Speaker 2: the official recommendations, we keep the isolation going even though

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Speaker 2: it seems a lot of people aren't reporting the data.

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Speaker 1: Well, I guess it's a tough one because a lot

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Speaker 1: of people are sort of, you know, gone back to

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Speaker 1: business as usual anyway, I suppose, But as you've touched on,

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Speaker 1: it can have a huge impact on some people and

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Speaker 1: as you said, you know, life threatening. So the changes

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Speaker 1: are still sort of being finalized as understand it for

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Speaker 1: visitors and stuff in high risk settings like gauged care

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Speaker 1: as well as health and correctional facilities. What do you

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Speaker 1: reckon needs to happen in those kind of environments.

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Speaker 2: Well, again, it's very sensible, and we've still got the

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Speaker 2: standard isolation for those community because again we're dealing with

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Speaker 2: vulnerable and often very sick individuals, both nage care and

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Speaker 2: in healthcare settings, and obviously someone's COVID positive potentially passing

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Speaker 2: the virus on the people who already very unwell could

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Speaker 2: have fatal consequences. I think it's very sensible for caution.

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Speaker 1: Now, what about in remote community should some of those

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Speaker 1: COVID measures remain in place?

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Speaker 2: Again, ideally, but again it's very difficult. Again, the key

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Speaker 2: to this again, vaccination and vaccination levels up, and as

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Speaker 2: long as individuals have got the recommended levels of vaccination,

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Speaker 2: that is the best protection. And I mean, yes, you

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Speaker 2: may get the bug, but your potential for getting really

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Speaker 2: sick or dying from it has lessoned if you have

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Speaker 2: the vaccinations.

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Speaker 1: So, doctor Parker, based on all of those changes that

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Speaker 1: were indeed announced on Friday following national cabinet, what's sort

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Speaker 1: of been the reaction from the Northern Territories medical professionals.

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Speaker 2: Well, again, I think we'd always like the highest standard

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Speaker 2: of isolation, but unfortunately politicians are to make choices, and

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Speaker 2: I mean again, there are arguments that there's a lot

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Speaker 2: more of the bug around the community and some being reported.

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Speaker 2: So I think keeping it the high risk setting, keeping

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Speaker 2: it to people who are potentially in contact with people

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Speaker 2: who are very vulnerable is sensible, while accepting it is

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Speaker 2: around and just recommending that people have the necessary vaccinations

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Speaker 2: to protect themselves given that it's still going to be

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Speaker 2: around the community for quite a while.

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Speaker 1: And do you reckon that these changes are going to

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Speaker 1: have much of an impact on our health system and

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Speaker 1: how things are tracking at our major hospitals.

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Speaker 2: Well, again, as long as people have vaccinated. The evidence

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Speaker 2: is very clear. But as long as people have vaccinations,

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Speaker 2: and again people who are at risking access the antiviral drugs,

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Speaker 2: that's their best health protection. And you know that the

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Speaker 2: evidence is very clear that people who have got vaccinations,

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Speaker 2: if they do get the bug, don't think they have

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Speaker 2: very serious or fatal health consequences that unvaccinated individuals do.

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Speaker 2: So it's up to the government. Yes, given the evidence,

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Speaker 2: you know, probably his time now to think about lessening

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Speaker 2: the restricts. But at the same time, the government really

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Speaker 2: needs to emphasize the need for protection, that people need

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Speaker 2: to be vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: And doctor Parker just briefly, how are things going at

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Speaker 1: the moment in our major hospitals, you know, in terms

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Speaker 1: of capacity and and and you know, I guess that

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Speaker 1: that flow of patients.

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Speaker 2: Through well, there's still very high levels of pressure and

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Speaker 2: that that's been described before and it hasn't got the

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Speaker 2: code yellow, but it's still a very hell of pressure.

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Speaker 2: The government is, or the top end, is implementing the

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Speaker 2: changes that were discussed a couple of months ago, and

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Speaker 2: there's a meeting with the Minister and Commissions tomorrow to

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Speaker 2: have a look at those changes. So you know that

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Speaker 2: has caused a lot of the changes have caused potentially

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Speaker 2: a lot of unrest. But there's ongoing discussion between the AMA, ASTHMA,

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Speaker 2: and the hospital about those situations, you know, to try

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Speaker 2: and develop the best tell system the territory and but

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Speaker 2: also to try and reduce the anxiety on collisions working

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Speaker 2: in the system.

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Speaker 1: And so is it looking as though, you know, people

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Speaker 1: that have been in those jobs for an awful long

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Speaker 1: period of time, who presumably have been doing a good job,

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Speaker 1: that they're going to lose their positions.

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Speaker 2: Well, the issue is that they've got to probably reapply

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Speaker 2: for them going to get this five years term. But

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Speaker 2: the AMA has been very clear. AMA and ASTHMA have

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Speaker 2: been very clear that there needs to be a very

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Speaker 2: transparent process and that potentially, you know, very high level

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Speaker 2: experienced collisions outside the territory should be involved in any

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Speaker 2: potential recruitment of those positions. So there is any lingering,

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Speaker 2: bad blood or sort of a long history between potential

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Speaker 2: people and those collisions that that is not accounted for

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Speaker 2: in any recruitment process. And I mean, you know, the

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Speaker 2: senior bureauc has to the credit, have been quite accommodating

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Speaker 2: that process and have been trying to move forward with it.

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Speaker 1: And doctor Parker, do you think that the changes I

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Speaker 1: know that I believe it was on Friday, Thursday or

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Speaker 1: Friday last week that the Chief Minister announced that doctor

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Speaker 1: Frank Daily is going to now be the new see

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Speaker 1: of the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet, so moving

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Speaker 1: away from that role within the Department of Health. Do

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Speaker 1: you think that that is going to have much of

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Speaker 1: an impact?

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Speaker 2: Well, we wish Frank all of this in this new

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Speaker 2: job and we look forward to seeing her the new CEOs.

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Speaker 1: Well, we'll wait and see how it all rolls out.

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Speaker 1: Doctor Robert Parker. Always good to catch up with you.

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Speaker 1: Sorry about those tech issues early on.

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Speaker 2: No worries, Katy, good to talk.

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Speaker 1: Thank you,