The ACT has recorded 24 new cases overnight, 18 linked to current exposure sites or identified close contacts while six remain under investigation.
Fifteen of the 24 new cases were in quarantine for the entire infectious period, while at least six spent part of the infectious period in community. Three remain under early investigation.
Of today’s 18 linked new cases, 16 were household contacts of existing cases, which has been the principal mechanism of transmission in this ACT outbreak.
“Those high levels of linked and in quarantine are the good news out of today’s numbers,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
As of this morning, 15 people are hospitalised with or due to COVID-19, with four in intensive care, one of whom requires ventilation.
Of the 15 in hospital, 11 are unvaccinated, 3 are partially vaccinated with one dose, and the vaccination status of one is unknown.
The youngest patient is under 12 years of age, the oldest in their mid-70s.
The total number of people hospitalised across the whole ACT outbreak stands at 42. Six people have required intensive care treatment, with three requiring ventilation.
The total number of cases linked to this outbreak now stands at 463. Thirteen more cases have recovered overnight, with now a total of 225 having recovered. The active case number stands at 238.
361 of the ACT’s 463 total confirmed cases are unvaccinated, or 78 per cent. Of the 361 unvaccinated cases, 339 are aged under 45 years.
ACT Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, said that figure is not unexpected given most in that age bracket haven’t been eligible for vaccination for as long as older cohorts.
ACT Policing yesterday conducted around 90 business checks, 625 traffic stops, and issued four four directions to leave the ACT.
With the wider construction industry commencing a soft reboot today, compliance in the sector will be a focus for ACT Policing, Worksafe, and Access Canberra over the coming days.
There are 20,000 local jobs associated with the safe return of the entire construction industry.
Vaccine rollout ramp up continues
The ACT’s vaccine rollout continues to ramp up; just over half of the Territory’s population aged 16 years and over have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Mr Barr proudly proclaimed the ACT is the first jurisdiction in the country to reach this milestone.
He also said the Territory is on track to reach the 75 per cent first dose milestone for our 16-plus population this weekend, 11-12 September.
Approximately 70 per cent of Canberrans aged 12 and over have now had their first dose, with vulnerable 12-15-year-olds having been eligible for the vaccine for some time.
There are approximately 365,000 Canberrans aged 12 years and above.
More than 30,000 additional Pfizer appointments have opened up over the next six weeks, with the AIS Arena mass vaccination site slated to handle the bulk of those jabs.
Mr Barr anticipates these new bookings will speed up the total ACT vaccination program by “around two weeks”.
“What we’re going to see in the coming weeks is our vaccination rate is going to continue to climb steadily,” the Chief Minister said.
Text messages have already been sent to people in the system, with those waiting the longest have had first access to the bookings.
Anyone currently booked for a vaccine at an ACT Government clinic can log in to the MyDHR system to see if there is an earlier vaccine appointment they can reschedule to.
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