The ACT has recorded 14 locally acquired confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
All of the new cases were linked and 13 of them were in quarantine for their infectious period.
12 of the 14 are household contacts, while the remaining two come from existing clusters.
One was unknowingly infectious in the community “for a very short time”, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr, and is considered a low risk.
Nine people have now been hospitalised with or due to COVID-19 in the ACT. Some do have pre-existing medical conditions.
One person remains in intensive care in critical condition; an unvaccinated woman in her 40s.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the ACT associated with this outbreak is now at 190.
The number of unlinked cases remain at eight, however Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Vanessa Johnston flagged further source investigations underway may lead to a revision in that number.
A total of 5,964 tests were conducted yesterday across Canberra. Waiting times this morning across the ACT’s testing centres are “quite low”; Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said currently no wait times across many testing sites.
As of today there are just under 7000 self-identified close contacts and over 4300 casual contacts in quarantine across the ACT.
There are now over 420 exposure locations across ACT.
An array of Canberrans “in the order of thousands” will be exiting lockdown in the coming days as the ACT hits two weeks of lockdown.
The number of known public transmission sites across Canberra remains at 10.
11 instances of transmission have been detected at Bright Bee’s early learning centre in Nicholls, two at CIT Reid, two at Gold Creek School, 13 at the Downer Community Centre, 33 at Fiction nightclub, Four at Assembly pub in Braddon, 15 at Lennock Jaguar Land Rover Phillip, 41 at Lyneham High, seven at Belconnen basketball stadium and 34 at Southern Cross basketball stadium.
Deptuy Chief Health Officer she was been “really encouraged” by the trends noted of late; the number of cases in quarantine going up and the number infectious in the community dropping.
“Since the lockdown, most of that exposure in the community is in the context of going out to do essential shopping with a mask,” she said.
“Appropriate PPE and short, sharp trips, so really present a low risk of transmission.”
Around 4,000 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines are being administered across Canberra daily.
Just over 37 per cent of the Territory’s population aged 12 years and over have received both doses of the vaccine.
Over 20,000 Canberrans aged 16-29 have registered to receive a Pfizer vaccine through an ACT Government clinic once bookings open up to them next month.
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