Northern Territory

Deakin University chair of epidemiology Catherine Bennett said at New South Wales' peak, the state had roughly 3.5 patients hospitalised with coronavirus per 10,000 residents.

By comparison, she calculated the Northern Territory (NT) now had roughly 6.32 Covid-related hospitalisations per 10,000 people.

Professor Bennett said the territory's high hospitalisation wasn't altogether surprising, considering many people in the NT had a "high risk profile".

Only children under the age of 12, NT residents, a small number of essential personnel and people arriving on compassionate grounds will be able to access an exemption under some of the country's strictest rules, which will come into effect on Monday.

"Previously, arriving from a green zone you didn't have to be vaccinated," Chief Minister Michael Gunner said today.

"On Monday that route is closed."

Gunner said the small number of unvaccinated travellers would still need to isolate on arrival and get tested.

The workers arrived on a chartered flight from Port Vila and will spend the next 14 days at a quarantine facility, before heading off to work in various Top End orchards.

The trial has not been cheap, with the NT mango industry forking out the $2,500 quarantine fee for each worker, plus the chartered flight from Port Vila understood to have cost around $100,000, which puts the total bill at around $500,000 before a mango has been picked.

The man, 47, was wading across Cahill's Crossing near Kakadu National Park when he was taken by the 3.3m (11ft) reptile, police said.

Two women made it across the river before realising the man was missing.

His body was found 2km (1.2 miles) downstream on Thursday night, police said. The crocodile was shot and killed.

Local media reported he was from a nearby remote community.