One coronavirus patient in Canberra has been admitted to intensive care as the ACT government has flagged a second set of stimulus measures.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has continued to climb in the territory. There were nine new cases on Friday, bringing the ACT's total to 62.
The new cases include six men and three women aged between 21 and 73. Seven were linked to overseas travel and two to already confirmed cases.
Of the 62 confirmed cases, five were in hospital. ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said four were stable and one was in intensive care. She would not provide details on the age of the intensive care patient.
Despite the growth in cases, there was still no evidence of community transmission in the ACT, Dr Coleman said.
"The ACT is currently in a comparatively good position, we are not yet seeing the transmission from unknown sources in our community like we are starting to see in other parts of jurisdictions and we are working incredibly hard to make sure we can delay this for as long as possible," she said.
"While it is inevitable that we will have some level of community transmission we need to continue working hard as a community to minimise its impact when it does start to occur."
It came as ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said his government would announce a further stimulus package within the next week.
Mr Barr had previously announced a $137 million package, which would offer rebates to all Canberra homeowners and tax relief to small businesses.
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He said a second stage would complement federal and NSW government responses.
"I indicated when I announced the first phase there would be multiple phases across the board," Mr Barr said.
"People can expect the next phase to be both consistent and coordinated with the Australian government and the work the NSW government have undertaken, so again we have consistent responses across the region."
The ACT Legislative Assembly would sit on Thursday to consider the package, as well as other measures announced by the national cabinet, which would require changes at a territory level.
But Mr Barr said he wanted consistency across state and territories and would not rush to introduce measures, such as commercial rates relief, until a national approach had been agreed to.
"The national cabinet framework, which is our first among equals approach to our policy implementation here in the ACT, that's the framework in which we operate and close alignment with NSW is the number two priority," he said.
NSW and Victoria have both flagged introducing further restrictions around businesses and social distancing and Mr Barr said he would move with those states.
"I would no envisage a situation where the ACT and NSW would have two radically different measures in place," he said.
"It's more likely that NSW, Victoria and the ACT would move together at an appropriate time in the future and would also potentially include Queensland so the entire eastern seaboard."
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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