Canberrans have been warned not to travel over the border into regional NSW, despite the ACT coming out of lockdown.
While NSW has removed the national capital as a COVID-19 area of concern – allowing travel to all parts of the state except for Sydney – ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr urged residents not to cross the border for another two weeks.
The ACT has set up a cross-border region of 27 postcodes, such as Queanbeyan, Cooma and Goulburn, but travel outside of those areas would result in Canberrans having to quarantine on their return.
However, free travel between Sydney and Canberra is expected to return from November 1.
“The best advice is that if you don’t need to travel, don’t travel. If you don’t need to cross the border, don’t cross the border,” Mr Barr said.
“My advice between now and November 1 is travel across the border is for essential reasons.
“We still have a virus circulating, and 90,000-plus who are not vaccinated fully.”
The chief minister urged Canberrans not to travel over to surrounding areas to go to the pub or for retail, and only for essential reasons such as work or health care.
However, travel advice was likely to change on November 1, coinciding with when NSW restrictions will ease, allowing Sydneysiders to travel to regional destinations.
“It will be a few days later than what we had envisaged, but we will align with NSW,” Mr Barr said.
“The exact nature of the changes we will work through and this next two weeks will be an easing of regional travel.”
It comes as Canberra experienced its first day out of lockdown on Friday.
Cafes, restaurants, bars, gyms and hairdressers were allowed to reopen to customers, subject to density limits.
However, it will be another fortnight before non-essential retail will be allowed to reopen their doors, with many businesses still only able to do click-and-collect options.
There were 35 new cases of COVID that were reported on Friday, down from the more than 50 cases earlier this week.
Health authorities also announced the death of a woman in her 70s from COVID, who lived at an aged care facility in Canberra’s north.
The woman is the eighth death from the virus during the ACT’s current outbreak; the previous seven deaths were in elderly people who were already receiving end-of-life care for other conditions.
The ACT has also reached 99 per cent of eligible residents over 12 getting their first vaccine dose, while about 75 per cent are fully vaccinated.
There are 16 patients in Canberra hospitals with the virus, eight of whom are in intensive care.
AAP
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