The ACT will adjust its restrictions on Tuesday to reflect an extended lockdown, as the government fights to combat a worsening Covid crisis that has reached an aged care facility and an inner-north high school.
The ACT reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the highest number of daily infections in the territory since the pandemic began.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced the territory-wide lockdown would be extended by two weeks to September 2, on advice from the chief health officer, to allow contact tracers time to understand the full extent of the outbreak.
"Lockdowns are a proven measure to suppress chains of transmission of the virus. They have worked elsewhere in Australia and overseas, and if we do the right thing, it will work here in Canberra," he said.
Mr Barr said he would update the community on Tuesday with changes to lockdown rules, but ruled out imposing a curfew.
"It's not going to make any difference whether they know today or tomorrow, so I think it's appropriate to take the next 24 hours before advising various areas of economic activity what the settings will be. We'll consult and we'll advise tomorrow," he said.
Restrictions are expected to be adjusted for some sectors rather than made harsher for individuals.
The government is considering transforming the Garran surge centre back into a Covid intensive care unit, but will monitor case numbers before making a final decision.The $23 million venue has been used as a vaccination clinic most recently, but officials are aware rising virus numbers may force them to revert back to its original purpose. None of the 28 active cases in Canberra are in ICU.
All of the cases reported on Monday were infectious in the community, including an aged care worker from the Greenway Views retirement village, who worked three shifts while unknowingly infectious between August 10 and 12.
A student at Lyneham High School, who attended school for four days last week from Monday, also tested positive, sending a large school community - including students, parents, teachers and staff - into a 14-day quarantine.
Chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said contact tracing investigations were still under way to understand the origin of the outbreak, which has previously been linked through genomic sequencing to cases in Sydney.
"This is a very concerning progression but it's not actually, for want of a better word, particularly alarming. We are expecting to see cases rise. This growth in cases is what we see when we talk about cases coming into a community where there is very little restriction on its spread," Dr Coleman said.
"We will see a rise in cases and then as the impact of the lockdown does start to work progressively, moving forward those cases will fall."
The chief health officer said there were not multiple seeding events of COVID-19 into the ACT, but there could be one or two instances of the virus making it to the capital.
Dr Coleman said ACT Health was working closely with the Greenway Views retirement village to limit the spread of COVID-19 among residents and staff. Aged care residents' heightened susceptibility to serious illness from COVID-19 makes increases the risk of outbreaks in the facilities.
Close contacts from Lyneham High School, and a Kaleen rehearsal room, will be given priority testing, after ACT Health set aside dedicated times at the Brindabella clinic for cohorts from the community to come forward.
Health authorities are still working to understand how the virus entered the ACT, but Mr Barr said there was no evidence to place the first identified case in Greater Sydney.
Waiting times for Covid tests again surged on Monday as the list of exposure locations grew, with people reporting waiting close to seven hours for a test at the Exhibition Park drive-through clinic.
There were 75 close and casual contact exposure sites by 6pm on Monday evening.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said testing capacity at all government-run clinics had been increased over the weekend.
"We continue to see waiting times vary across our sites throughout each day. If you are leaving home to go and get tested, I would strongly encourage you to check the website and social media feed in particular of ACT Health," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
Police issued eight infringements for Covid restriction breaches on Sunday, the highest number on any single day since the pandemic began.
Six of the fines were issued in relation to a construction site in Taylor. Chief police officer Neil Gaughan said officers would continue to focus on construction sites, where work is mostly banned.
"We will be doing substantial workplace compliance with WorkSafe ACT in relation to construction sites across the territory to ensure people actually adhere to the health directions and stay at home," Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said.
More than 1000 vehicles were stopped by police, and 145 home and businesses checks were completed on Sunday.
Mr Barr said he "made many things" of NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro's comment at the weekend that the risk from Canberra's outbreak contributed to the decision to impose a state-wide lockdown.
"Look, I think at this point in time it doesn't serve any particular purpose for there to be a running commentary on each jurisdiction's response," he said, while again saying NSW's stay-at-home message would have been better made seven weeks ago.
- with Lucy Bladen
