The ACT is inching closer to 95 per cent of the population being fully vaccinated, with 94 per cent of eligible Canberrans aged 12 and up having now had the jab.
It comes as local hospitality peak bodies, Clubs ACT and the Australian Hotels Association ACT branch (AHA ACT), call for the government to ease density limits on the sector earlier than planned.
AHA ACT general manager, Anthony Brierley, said with close to 95 per cent of the population double vaccinated, the time has come to ease restrictions given the industry has been continually disrupted since the beginning of the pandemic.
“It’s time these capacity restrictions are removed so that life can go back to normal. What are we waiting for?,” he said.
The NSW Government will ease restrictions on Monday 8 November to allow no booking limits for restaurants and hospitality however one person per two square metre density limits will still apply.
The Victorian Government will remove all density and capacity limits on 24 November.
By then, ACT hospitality businesses will still be limited to one person per four square metre indoor density limits – 25% of their normal patronage.
“We were told that high vaccination was our ticket to normality,” Mr Brierley said.
“Canberrans have delivered in spades, and it’s high time the ACT Government keeps its end of the bargain by removing these
punitive restrictions on the hospitality industry.”
Craig Shannon, CEO of ClubsACT, said Canberrans are ready to return to “a more normal lifestyle” while his industry is “ready and waiting to serve them”.
“We urge the ACT Government to consider bringing forward the further removal of restrictive venue density limits at
the earliest opportunity,” Mr Shannon said.
13 new cases were detected in the ACT in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday, bringing the total for the outbreak to 1,692.
Six patients are in hospital with or due to COVID-19; two are in intensive care, both ventilated.
There are currently 144 active cases of COVID-19 in the ACT.
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