Two more individuals from the government-chartered flight that arrived in Canberra on Monday have tested positive to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Both were family of, or seated near, two other individuals on the flight who earlier tested positive and genomic testing identified as having the South African variant of the virus.
They were tested on day five as part of ACT Health's hotel quarantine protocols.
They are a female and a male, both in their 40s, and doing well while being supported by ACT Health.
The latest positive test results bring the total active cases in the ACT to four, following the two cases identified on Thursday.
Genome sequencing would be conducted early next week.
All four individuals were being cared for in a separate area of the hotel from other returned travellers.
The new female case is a family member of the male under the age of 20 who tested positive earlier this week. She has been in quarantine with him.
The new male case was seated in an adjacent row to a previously identified case during the flight to Canberra.
The South African variant of the virus is believed to be more infectious than other strains. Early evidence suggested the vaccines in use were less effective against the South African strain of the virus.
A spokesperson said the ACT had strong systems in place for hotel quarantine to reduce the risk of transmission, including stringent PPE and inflection control processes and daily saliva testing for frontline workers.
As of midnight on Friday, 1949 individuals had received a COVID-19 vaccine from the ACT government.
In addition to the two positive cases, in the past 24 hours a further 538 tests for the virus were conducted in the ACT with negative results.
Asymptomatic returned travellers are tested on day five of hotel quarantine to help identify any further cases early during the quarantine period.
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