Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Andrew Brown

One in 10 calls to COVID-19 hotline reports of social distancing breaches

Nearly one in 10 calls made to the government's COVID-19 hotline were people reporting the behaviour of other Canberrans breaching social distancing restrictions.

Since the hotline was established in the beginning of April, 521 reports of non-compliance with public health directions have been made.

Of those reports, 384 were referred to ACT police for investigation.

In the month since the hotline was set up by the ACT government, more than 6300 calls have been made to the service.

The hotline provides information on social distancing restrictions, government stimulus, as well as general inquiries about the virus.

However, the number of calls to the service has been steadily declining in recent weeks.

More than 1700 calls were made to the hotline in its first week, while 1100 were made in the week from April 29 to May 5.

An ACT government spokeswoman said the hotline was staffed by 10 people.

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

"With each announcement by the ACT government of additional economic and social supports, the scope of calls made to the helpline increases.

"However, since launching, the service available through the helpline has remained the same throughout its operation."

The new figures from the COVID-19 hotline comes as ACT police say they have responded to 122 call outs related to compliance with coronavirus restrictions since May 4.

While no infringements have been handed out, seven cautions have been handed out by officers, two of them in Jervis Bay.

One of the cautions was issued to a north Canberra business that allowed people to sit outside in a dining area.

Another was issued to a residential gathering in Canberra's south during the Anzac Day long weekend.

ACT chief police officer Ray Johnson said more than 1000 COVID-19 incidents had been recorded since March.

"In the beginning, there were a lot of changes, and unfortunately we're at that point again," he said.

"There will be a lot more information coming, and for many activities there is still going to be limitations before Canberra is fully up and running."

ACT police said its approach to social distancing restrictions would be an "inform and educate" one with fines handed out to those who repeatedly breached coronavirus measures.

READ MORE:

Chief police officer Johnson said that approach would continue in coming weeks.

More than 500 calls have been made to the ACT coronavirus hotline reporting breaches of social distacing. Picture: Shutterstock

Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.