This story has since been updated.
There have been three new confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded in the ACT in the past 24 hours, bringing the Territory’s total to 103.
The new confirmed cases are two females and one male, aged between 26 and 51. One is a close contact of a previous confirmed case and two are under investigation.
A total of 59 cases have recovered from COVID-19 and have been released from self-isolation. This is more than half of all confirmed cases in the ACT.
There are currently four COVID-19 patients in Canberra hospitals. The remainder are isolating at home with ACT Health support.
There are a total of three COVID-19 cases in Canberra under investigation and ACT Health are awaiting further test results before they can determine their status.
The ACT has recorded two deaths.
The number of negative tests in the ACT is now more than 6,000.
Increase to random testing
With demand for testing from returned overseas travellers and close contacts of confirmed cases dropping further, ACT Health is increasing the number of random tests it is performing on other symptomatic people.
Acting ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said the extra testing added to the surveillance already in place was to try and identify potential community transmission in the ACT.
“Community transmission is when we start to see a large number of locally acquired cases where a direct source of exposure cannot be identified,” Dr Johnston said.
“Although we still have three cases under investigation we have not seen any evidence of this so far in the ACT. This is despite actively looking for it by testing members of the community who have no history of overseas travel or contact with known confirmed cases.
“For several weeks this group has included symptomatic healthcare and aged-care workers, as well as people who live and work in high-risk settings. Since Monday, 6 April, this has also included a random sample of people who present to designated clinics who are symptomatic but do not otherwise meet the criteria.
“With some extra capacity created by declining demand for testing from groups that meet the criteria, we are now increasing the number of random tests to give us an even better view of potentially unidentified cases.”
General information
ACT Health is continuing to take appropriate public health action in line with national guidelines.
It’s important for Canberrans to remain calm and keep informed, and to keep focussed on the practical things we can all do to protect ourselves, our families and the most vulnerable in our community.
The ACT Government has established a dedicated COVID- 19 website for all information about the health and economic response to the pandemic in the ACT. For further information visit www.covid19.act.gov.au.
The ACT Government has also established a new helpline to assist Canberrans through the challenges of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Helpline is now live and will operate on 02 6207 7244 between 8am and 8pm daily.
We encourage all Canberrans to continue to stay up to date on developments through the COVID-19 website, as well as ACT Health social media channels.
People who are concerned and want further information on the virus, can also call the Australian Government’s Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080. The line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For details on how the ACT stats compare to other jurisdictions across Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website. This information is updated daily.
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