As NSW endures another outbreak of COVID-19 and its highest number of cases in months, the ACT Government is stepping up its health protocols. Starting tomorrow, you must use the Check In CBR app whenever you board public transport or go into a shop, the ACT Government announced today.
From noon on Thursday, Canberrans must scan themselves in on every bus or light rail vehicle they ride, whether it’s a single trip or they transfer between vehicles, said Chris Steel, Minister for Transport and City Services.
Over the weekend, the government installed more than 8,700 Check In CBR QR codes on buses and light rail vehicles across Transport Canberra’s fleet – 30 codes per vehicle.
The government also asks public transport users to register their MyWay cards to ensure an extra level of information. To register their MyWay card, customers can phone 131710 or register online. Children are not required to check in to public transport.
The public must also Check In when taking taxis, uber, and other rideshare services, and when entering retail (supermarkets, petrol stations, takeaway services, clothing stores, department stores).
This protocol was announced a fortnight ago; the last two weeks have given Canberra businesses time to obtain QR codes.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith encouraged the public to wear face masks on public transport, and always to carry masks.
Although the mask mandate ended on Friday, the government still recommended masks in public or indoor settings where strangers were in an enclosed space, coming and going, and could not maintain physical distance – like public transport.
Access Canberra will work with businesses to make sure they can check their customers in.
“Throughout the pandemic, Access Canberra and ACT Policing have taken an educate and engage approach,” Ms Stephen-Smith said. “We haven’t had very many infringement notices issued either to businesses or to individuals in the ACT, and that approach will continue. But if people are very deliberately flouting the public health directions, and very deliberately not doing what they’re required to do, then police will take action.”
Other COVID news
Twenty-six ACT residents have been identified as casual contacts of the construction worker who tested positive to COVID-19 in Goulburn this week. All contacts must isolate until they receive a negative test result.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman was confident this presented a low risk to the ACT, Ms Stephen-Smith stated.
“We don’t have any known positive cases,” the Minister said. “The risk to the ACT community remains low but not non-existent. … Should there be a need to increase [safety measures], to mandate masks anywhere, the Chief Health Officer will not hesitate to do that.”
In the last 24 hours, more than 1,000 people have tested negative for COVID-19.
At the moment, 1,400 people are subject to stay-at-home orders, and 265 people are quarantining in the ACT – 165 people because they returned from a COVID-19 affected area. The other hundred include overseas arrivals, diplomats, and government officials. A couple of people were identified as close contacts from an interstate exposure site.
Meanwhile, 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive in August, a month earlier than first thought. The ACT Government might boost supplies to the Garran and airport Pfizer vaccination hubs, or turn Calvary Hospital (currently used for Astra-Zeneca vaccinations) into a Pfizer hub. (As there is less demand for AstraZeneca vaccinations, appointments for the second dose could be moved elsewhere.)
“All of those things are currently on the table,” Ms Stephen-Smith said. “We haven’t made any decisions about that yet. But planning continues based on the projections that we’ve received from the Commonwealth.”
The ACT Government will provide support of up to $75,000 for individual accommodation providers and $15,000 for small private tourism operators affected by the pandemic’s travel restrictions and border closures.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr is also seeking Commonwealth support for tourism, hospitality, and accommodation businesses affected by the lockdown. A further announcement will be made before long.
“We are very cognizant across government of the very significant impact on a subsection of the hospitality sector in particular,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The Federal Government has encouraged younger people to get vaccinated; Ms Stephen-Smith said that although there had been a big spike in younger people wanting to get the Astra-Zeneca vaccine from their GP, the ACT Government did not have enough supply of Pfizer to vaccinate everybody all at once. “We need to make those decisions about prioritizing older age groups who are more at risk.”
In the meantime, Ms Stephen-Smith encouraged young people to take public health measures measures seriously.
“Vaccination is one part of our broad response to COVID-19; it’s going to be a very important part of our pathway out of this pandemic, but there are many ways that you can protect yourself,” she said.
Keep your physical distance; maintain your hand and cough hygiene; wear masks when in enclosed spaces; and stay at home or encourage your workmates to stay home when sick.
“You do not come to work when you’re sick. You do not go out with your friends when you’re sick. And we need to hold one another to account for that.”
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