After more than two months, the ACT’s COVID-19 lockdown has ended.
Restrictions were formally eased at midnight on Thursday, allowing cafes, restaurants and pubs to reopen, while Canberrans can have up to five visitors at their homes.
But the reopening of the ACT on Friday has come with a warning from Chief Minister Andrew Barr that virus case numbers will rise as movement increases across the Territory.
“We have done a lot as a community, this next step needs to be taken carefully,” he said.
“It does not mean the end of COVID risk, which is why the first step out of lockdown will be a gentle and measured step forward.”
While there has been some criticism the easing of lockdown restrictions are too cautious – retail shops can’t reopen to in-store customers until October 29 – Mr Barr said public health was the priority.
“It ensures the safest activities are recommencing and the riskiest ones will wait until more of the population are fully vaccinated.”
The latest figures show 98.8 per cent of Canberrans aged over 12 have received one dose of the vaccine, while almost 75 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Mr Barr said as Canberra came out of lockdown, the emphasis would be on vaccine coverage rather than the daily case numbers.
“We want to see our world-leading first dose vaccination rate translate into a world-leading, fully vaccinated rate,” he said.
“The statistic that matters and the one we will focus on is the percentage of our community which is fully vaccinated.”
Health authorities predict a rise in case numbers in the days and weeks ahead, but the increase is not expected to be sharp.
The end of the lockdown also led to the NSW government removing travel restrictions for the ACT, with Canberra no longer listed as an area of concern.
ACT residents can enter regional NSW but can’t go to Greater Sydney without a reasonable excuse.
Canberrans are also now able to enter Victoria, provided they apply for an exemption and isolate until they get a negative test result.
During the nine weeks of lockdown, there were 1359 COVID-19 cases of reported, including 46 on Thursday.
There were seven deaths, with six linked to an aged care facility in Canberra’s north, all of whom were already receiving end-of-life care for other conditions.
By Andrew Brown in Canberra, AAP
