ACT Health will change routine reporting of COVID-19 information, including case numbers, from daily to weekly after the final daily update is published this Friday, 9 September.

The move from daily to weekly reporting has been agreed between Health Ministers and will be applied consistently across state and territory governments, ACT Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith said.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the first weekly update on ACT case numbers will be issued on Friday 16 September in line with other Australian jurisdictions.

The weekly updates will contain similar information to that included in the current daily updates – such as, number of new cases (with a PCR/RAT breakdown), total cases, new deaths, total deaths, vaccination rates, and hospital data (including a breakdown of ICU and ventilated patients).

ACT Health will also continue to produce the more detailed Weekly Epidemiological Update each Friday, with data in those reports continuing to be based on the previous week (Monday to Sunday) to allow for “data cleansing” and analysis.

“The winter wave of COVID-19 has passed, and we have reached a stage in the pandemic where daily reporting is not as important as it was,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

“Weekly reporting will allow the public to stay informed about the level of COVID in the ACT and the impacts it is having on our health system and society more broadly.

“Of course, if there are any developments of concern, the Government will alert the community,” the minister said.

The weekly updates will be published on ACT Health’s website and social media accounts.

Get local, national and world news, plus sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.