After a brief moment of facemask freedom, we saw the return of indoor mask restrictions in December 2021, and Omicron found its way through the ACT border with our first confirmed case. A 29-year-old man was tragically murdered in Civic, the NCA approved Lake Burley Griffin as a seaplane landing spot despite community opposition, and in happier news – a hot new Asian BBQ restaurant opened in the city.
ACT to reintroduce mandatory facemasks indoors
Reintroduced public health measures will require people in the ACT to wear a facemask indoors from 11.59pm 21 December, while visitor restrictions for residential aged care facilities will be tightened. Facemasks were once again mandatory in all indoor settings in the ACT other than places of residence. Residential aged care residents were restricted to five visitors per day with a maximum of five visitors at any one time. From 12.01am on Boxing Day, 26 December, Canberra’s health facilities reintroduced a no-visitor policy as Covid cases increased in the lead up to Christmas.
29-year-old man dead after fatal altercation in Civic
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following article contains the name of a deceased person.
ACT Policing confirmed 29-year-old Jordan Powell has died and 19-year-old Kenan Dowden-Carlisle has been charged with murder following an altercation in Civic on Saturday morning, 4 December. Magistrate James Stewart said the murder allegation related to a fight in a public area that involved a knife. Despite first-aid efforts from members of the public, police and ACT Ambulance Service officers, a the 29-year-old was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Seaplanes to Sydney and the South Coast
The National Capital Authority (NCA) approved the West Basin of Lake Burley Griffin as a landing spot for seaplanes from Sydney and the NSW south coast, despite community opposition. Sydney Seaplanes, the largest seaplane operator in Australia, intends to fly between the Lake and Rose Bay, Sydney (at 10am and 4pm), and between Canberra Airport and Sydney (mornings and evenings). South Coast Seaplanes would offer scenic tours of the Lake and fly between Canberra and the NSW South Coast twice a week. The NCA determined the tourism benefits would outweigh any potential impacts of the seaplanes, such as noise pollution and disruption to the activities of existing lake users.
First confirmed case of Omicron in ACT, exposure sites listed
The ACT recorded its first confirmed case of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Wednesday 1 December, prompting a further tightening of quarantine requirements. The fully vaccinated person returned a positive test result with genomic testing subsequently confirming the variant. ACT Health undertook further contact tracing and identified several exposure sites across 29 and 30 November, including an indoor pool and a school end-of-year celebration. Casual contacts who attended those sites had to immediately quarantine and remain isolated until they received a negative test result. ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith announced that all close contacts of a confirmed Omicron case must quarantine for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status.
WILMA is the hottest new Asian BBQ in town
WILMA opened its doors on Friday 3 December, in the heart of the city, brought to life by founder and Head Chef of the late and great Biota Dining – James Viles. He brings his newest Asian-Australian menu to Canberrans through the skill of head chef Brendan Hill. Viles will be cooking a lot more than yakitori on this creation. The barbecue section will see the likes of roasted duck, char siu pork, and a chilli beef short rib finished over the coals and then glazed. He plans on sourcing local native timbers to work with in the smoker – red gum and spotted gum – to add an Australian element to popular Asian flavours.
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