The ACT has a new positive COVID-19 case, ACT Health confirmed this afternoon, bringing the number of active cases to five. All are in hotel quarantine.
The individual is a teenage boy, related to a 40-year-old woman and a teenage boy who tested positive last week.
The family returned on the government-facilitated repatriation flight from Singapore on Monday 1 March.
All three are in quarantine together in an area of the Pacific Suites hotel separate from other returned travellers.
Whole genome sequencing continues for the 40-year-old woman and for an unrelated male in his 40s, who also returned a positive COVID-19 test on Sunday 7 March.
This man and another man in his 40s are also in hotel quarantine.
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The hub flight which arrived in Canberra last Monday carried 177 passengers from countries in Asia and Europe, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Portugal. Of these, 146 passengers stayed in Canberra and 31 continued onto Sydney to undertake their quarantine.
All five active cases in Canberra are well at this time and supported by ACT Health, the ACT Government stated.
ACT Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, said all risk mitigation measures were being put in place quickly and thoroughly. She expected a close contact of these cases would also test positive, necessitating an extended quarantine period for passengers on the flight.
“The ACT has strong systems in place for hotel quarantine that are designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission,” a spokesperson said.
As part of this, all staff working in hotel quarantine follow stringent personal protective equipment and infection control processes; and are screened for symptoms each day and regularly tested for COVID-19 as part of the Safeguarding Canberrans (SCAN) program.
The ACT Government has a dedicated COVID-19 website: covid19.act.gov.au.
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