ANU officials want a "less restrictive" isolation model for their students after five residences were sent into lockdown on Monday.
Hundreds of ANU students are being monitored under strict isolation rules after it emerged some had been deemed close contacts of a new positive COVID-19 case.
Bruce Hall, Wamburun Hall, Fenner Hall, Burgmann College and Burton and Garran Hall went into lockdown, with the ANU providing support to help students cope during the isolation period.
It comes less than 24 hours after the university thought it was clear of Covid concerns when all students who were deemed close contacts of an earlier case tested negative.
But the ANU want to change the model to limit the impact on students who are not deemed close contacts.
"In the last few days, at the request of ACT Health, the close contact's entire hall was placed under additional restrictions as a precaution while the close contact student awaited their test result," an ANU spokesperson said.
"We are now working with ACT Health to refine the model so it is less restrictive for our residents for future close contacts. This model will still prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all our residents, the ANU campus and wider ACT community.
"Once this model is confirmed and in place, our residents will be the first to know.
"For the meantime, and due to identified close contacts, a number of our residences are under enhanced stay at home orders: Wamburun Hall, Bruce Hall, Fenner Hall, Burgmann College, and Burton and Garran Hall."
Eight campus residences were initially sent into lockdown last week when about a dozen students were deemed close contacts.
Wamburun Hall, Bruce Hall, Fenner Hall, Burgmann College, and Burton and Garran Hal have now been added to the list, with close-contact residents moved into self-contained apartments in the hope of preventing any spread.
"All other residents are deemed a secondary contact and have been asked to remain in their rooms until the University and ACT Health confirm there are no positive COVID cases in the residences," an ANU spokesman said.
"The students are being supported by ANU with food deliveries and other pastoral and academic support."
A Lyneham High School student tested positive on Sunday night and more cases are expected to be announced by ACT Health on Monday morning.
ACT Health has closed the Dickson walk-in centre to redeploy staff to Covid testing sites around Canberra in anticipation of exposure site continuing to grow.
