Coronavirus: Canberra’s roadmap out of lockdown

ACT Chief Health Minister Andrew Barr has announced a staged approach to the easing of restrictions over the coming weeks.

Canberrans have finally been given a clear pathway out of lockdown.

ACT Chief Health Minister Andrew Barr announced a staged approach to the easing of restrictions over the coming weeks on Monday.

From 12am on Friday, ACT residents will enjoy a number of new freedoms:

• House visit will be permitted, with a guest limit of two people at a time.
• The outside of home time limit for recreation and other activities will be doubled from two hours to four hours.
• ACT nature parks will reopen and outdoor boot camps, and personal training will return with a maximum of two people (excluding staff).
• Non-essential retail will be allowed to reopen with click and collect service only.

Mr Barr said Canberra would hit the 80 per cent fully vaccinated target for all of its population aged over 12 sometime in October.

Providing the public health risk of Covid-19 remains relatively stable over the next two weeks, Mr Barr said lockdown would end as planned on October 15 with the jurisdiction then transitioning to medium-level public health restrictions.

From 12am on Friday, ACT residents will enjoy a number of new freedoms. Picture: Newswire/Gary Ramage

These will be:

• Household visitor caps raised to five people and outdoor gatherings increase to 25 people.
• Licensed venues cafes and restaurants able to operate seated service at a maximum capacity of 25 across a venue or one person per four square meters indoors.
• If hospitality venues choose to offer Alfresco service outdoors, the maximum number of patrons will be increased to 50.
• Hairdressers, beauty salons, and personal services will be allowed to reopen with a maximum of five customers at any one time.
• Gyms will reopen with strict Covid-safe requirements, with a maximum of 25 people and one person per four square meters.
  
• Weddings, outdoor play centres, places of worship, and community centres and facilities will reopen with the same 25 person, four square metre limit.
  
• Accommodation providers such as hotels and motels campgrounds caravan parks and campsites will reopen.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT would transition to medium level public health restrictions on October 15. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas.

Canberra recorded 19 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Monday, bringing the national capital’s total outbreak to 769.

Of the 19 new cases, seven were in isolation for their entire infectious period, while at least eight were contagious out in the community.

Seventeen of the transmissions have been linked to existing cases and two remain under investigation.

The capital saw its first death from Covid for 2021 overnight, with a man in his 90s passing away in an aged care centre in Bruce.

Mr Barr said the man was already very unwell before he contracted Covid, but his death was devastating nonetheless.

“The man had been receiving end of life care at the Calvary Hayden aged care facility prior to being diagnosed with COVID-19. He had been extremely unwell prior to contracting Covid-19,” he said.

“This is the first death where Covid is a contributing factor in this current outbreak and brings the total number of Covid related deaths in the ACT to four since the start of the pandemic.”