Doctors have welcomed the possibility that non-emergency treatment could resume, perhaps as early as this week.
The federal government is considering lifting the block on "elective" procedures such as hip and knee surgery.
"It's a really, really fantastic step for the ACT," Dr Antonio Di Dio, president of the Australian Medical Association in the territory, said.
"All of the hard work Australians have done really has paid off," said Steve Robson, a Canberra surgeon and professor at the ANU Medical School.
Elective procedures are ones which can be planned in advance rather than emergencies demanding immediate treatment.
They were put on hold as fears grew that COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, could overwhelm the health system. But fewer cases than feared means there's more room to treat other patients.
Doctors emphasised that there is no cause to relax social-distancing.
Professor Robson said that allowing other treatments indicated that Canberrans were doing the right thing - and should keep doing the right thing.
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Any return to treating less urgent cases would mean that people whose treatment was stood down just before the virus emerged would be high on the waiting list.
It would be a week-by-week decision - a calculation of the likely burden on the health system from COVID-19 against the capacity to do non-COVID work. If COVID ramps up, other treatments would be cut again.
The easing would mean an immediate return to the treatment of more minor ailments. "The signs are good but there's no enthusiasm for doctors to return to routine care."
Professor Robson said that while confronting coronavirus was the right priority, there were many other conditions which were debilitating and which needed treatment. He cited blood-pressure problems, hypertension, diabetes and chronic mental health problems.
There are three categories of seriousness for elective treatments: Category 1 should be treated within 30 days; Category 2 within 90 days and Category 3 within 12 months.
Category 1 patients are already being treated. They would include people diagnosed with cancer.
But a woman diagnosed with a pre-cancerous growth would be in Category 2, and so denied treatment at the moment. Easing the rules might well see her treatment go up the priority list.
There's a caveat. Category 2 patients would probably not be treated if they were likely to need an intensive care bed. These beds would remain available for any sudden wave of COVID-19 patients.
Orthopaedic injuries - knees, hips and other joints - would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, according to Dr Di Dio.
People don't die from a bad knee, for example, so it's not urgent in that sense, but it might be extremely painful and debilitating. In this kind of case, surgeons would discuss priorities.
Canberra's private hospitals were not commenting on the prospect of easing restrictions.
The absence of a tidal wave of COVID-19 patients (so far) means the private system is likely to take the new batch of patients needing elective treatments.
Dr Di Dio said he had never seen doctors working in such a collaborative way.
He reckoned that was because they felt they were receiving respect from the public and from politicians. He hoped the good will would continue.
