Canberrans to dust off dancing shoes as restrictions ease on Friday

One political leader has made cringe worthy comments while announcing the easing of Covid restrictions.

Eyebrows across Canberra were raised as the ACT’s Chief Minister did his best to relate to youngsters keen to get back on the dancefloor.

Andrew Barr was announcing the most significant easing of restrictions for the ACT since lockdown began when he declared he made his cringe worthy appeal.

“For the youngsters, nightclubs can reopen and dancing is back. Moves like Jagger will be seen on dancefloors across Canberra,” he declared, in a reference to the Maroon 5 song.

The delivery of his joke left much to be desired but nonetheless it got the point across.

From Friday, Canberrans can put their masks away as life returns to almost pre-lockdown restrictions.

Household visitor and outdoor gathering limits will also be scrapped, while entertainment venues with fixed seating can return to 100 per cent capacity.

Density rules for retail and hospitality venues will be relaxed and nightclubs can reopen and allow patrons to dance and drink while standing up.

 The new restrictions will see a default density limit of one person per two square metres across most indoor settings apply.

In a sigh of relief for many, face masks will only be required in high-risk indoor settings such as hospitals, aged care and public transport.

The return to almost pre-lockdown restrictions was set to be enacted on November 26, but was brought forward two weeks due to the ACT’s high vaccination rate.

The eased restrictions were brought forward two weeks. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA Newswire

But high school students, who only recently returned to the classroom, will still have to wear masks after ACT Health confirmed it considered schools a “high risk setting”.

“Overall, Canberrans should be incredibly proud of how we have responded to this pandemic,” Mr Barr said.

“We are tracking towards close to 100 per cent vaccination coverage by the end of this month.”

The eased restrictions will be remain in place until late January 2022, when they will be reviewed again.

It comes as the territory recorded 18 new infections on Tuesday. There is currently one person in hospital who is in intensive care and requiring ventilation.

More than 95 per cent of ACT residents aged 12 and over are now fully vaccinated.

The medium age for Covid-19 cases in the ACT is 15. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

Almost half of the new cases across Canberra have been detected in children. The medium age for cases over the past week was 15 years old.

Chief health officer Kerryn Coleman said this was to be expected.

“We did expect we would see more of our cases move towards children under 12 because of the ineligibility for vaccination at the moment,” Dr Coleman said.

“But it's also why we’ve done so much work with the education directorate and schools about having those plans in place so that we can respond.”

Originally published as Canberrans to dust off dancing shoes as restrictions ease on Friday