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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Andrew Brown

Canberrans are dobbing in their neighbours for breaching social distancing rules

One hundred and seventy five Canberrans have dobbed in their neighbours or businesses to the ACT government, accusing them of breaching social distancing restrictions.

Access Canberra says 144 of those reports were made in the past week, coinciding with the launch of an ACT COVID-19 hotline, where reports can be lodged.

New figures show 116 reports were made in relation to people, and 59 reports were about businesses.

It's not known how many of the reports resulted in infringements.

People who breach social distancing measures in the ACT can be fined up to $8000, in measures mostly in line with those seen over the border in NSW.

On-the-spot fines of $1000 have been issued in NSW, including multiple on the South Coast during the Easter period.

However, the ACT government has opted for an education and warning approach for those found in breach. Fines would only be issued after repeat offences or more flagrant breaches of restrictions, authorities have said.

ACT police said multiple large gatherings had to be broken up over the Easter long weekend, including some in parks and houses.

The coronavirus hotline was launched on April 8 as a one-stop shop for information and advice about COVID-19 and social distancing restrictions.

Access Canberra said 1531 calls had been made to the service in its first week of operation.

"Through the new helpline, Access Canberra has received many general inquiries about COVID-19 as well as calls relating to the health directions, business, community, stimulus support, schools and testing," an Access Canberra spokeswoman said.

The hotline is operational from 8am to 8pm daily with staff from other Access Canberra departments enlisted to take calls.

"The COVID-19 helpline is generally staffed by around 10 dedicated COVID-19 customer service officers," the spokeswoman said.

"Contact centre call takers include Access Canberra staff who have retrained from other teams to support the government's response to COVID-19 and the public health directions.

"Access Canberra actively monitors call volumes and wait times to ensure appropriate resourcing is available to handle calls."

The hotline number is 6207 7244.

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Almost 200 Canberrans have dobbed in their neighbours for breaching social distancing restrictions to a dedicated hotline. Picture: Shutterstock
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