Thread by @AnnaVidot

ACT COVID update 14 Sept

22 new cases
14 linked
8 under investigation
2 in quarantine throughout
13 infectious in the community

10 in hospital
2 in ICU
1 ventilated

3721 tests conducted

BREAKING: ACT lockdown will CONTINUE for another 4 weeks, to Fri 15 October

There will be some small changes to lockdown rules to come this weekend (click&collect and covid-safe delivery, outdoor stuff inc tennis & golf, private real estate inspections)

Barr says priority in next four weeks is to vaccinate as many people as possible

Good news is, Canberrans are taking up vaccination enthusiastically.

50% of Canberra's 12yo+ population is now fully vaccinated.

Barr says financial assistance will be expanded, inc:

An additional 1-off $200 increase in the Utilities Concession brings that to $1,000 for 2021-22

31,000 households eligible for the Utilities Concession.

($31m cost to ACT budget in 2021-22)

(There is a lot here, and my brain is too slow for this today tbh. You're better off actually watching the presser, but I'll do my best on a couple of the key points.)

The delayed ACT Budget will be delivered on 6 October.

There will be "further investments" for vulnerable Canberrans in that, Barr says.

SCHOOLS in TERM 4:

Yr 12 return to campus from start of Term 4 (Tues 5 Oct)

Yr 11 return from Week 3 (Mon 18 Oct) subject to health situation

Pre-school through to Yr10 will continue remote learning "for at least the first four weeks of Term 4," Barr says.

CHO Coleman

22 new
528 total
276 recovered
252 active

Of 22
14 linked (9 household)
8 investigation
2 in quarantine
13 infectious in cmnty
7 being assessed

10 in hospital
Aged 20s-70s
2 ICU (aged bw 40-60)
1 ventilated
2 fully vaxxed (not in ICU)
1 1 dose
6 unvaxxed
1 unknown

CHO confirms another case linked to Ainslie Village

~1000 close contacts
320 active exposure sites

Despite the Check In CBR updates, CHO asks people to continue checking the exposure sites list on the website

CHO on extending lockdown: "Clearly not the decision we wanted to make, but it is the one that we needed to make to control the spread of COVID-19 in our community at this point in time, this week."

CHO outbreak update in its 5th week

528 total
Just over half male
Median age 26
Aged under 5 to over 80

Vax status
62 (12%) 1 dose
26 (5%) 2 doses
434 (82%) unvaccinated

~50 cases where contact/source is still unknown
~28 of those notified in last 2 weeks:

It's not decreasing

CHO says following rapid increase in cases at start of outbreak, our numbers are now "reasonably steady" but fluctuating, and because we're a small jurisdiction, "those fluctuations can sometimes appear quite large."

ACT holding the effective reproductive rate "around 1."

CHO: "Currently, almost two-thirds of our total cases have been infectious in the community for some or all of their infectious period."

While a number expected due to essential work/activity, "this still does present a risk for further spread."

CHO says ACT has had 21 separate clusters, with an average of 17 cases/cluster (smallest 2, largest 52)

Settings include but not limited to households, private areas, workplaces, pubs, clubs, nightclubs

CHO: There appear to be 8 separate introductions of Delta variant into ACT

Some result of people w exemptions coming in and doing the right thing. So they've been ID'ed and posed no ongoing risk.

3 have led to community transmission

2 of those were just in the last 48 hours

CHO notes that we're seeing more cases in our neighbouring NSW regions. We need to be aware of those, she says.

"We will continue to work closely with our southern NSW neighbours."

CHO: "The Canberra community has done an outstanding job of following our health advice and our directions, and this is what has enabled us to keep our case numbers at the level we have at the moment." >>

>>CHO: "But I do know that this is hard, and that people have had to make many sacrifices, and that the lack of connection with family and friends has made this lockdown incredibly difficult, especially for some members of our community.">>

>>CHO says that's why the decision to extend a lockdown isn't taken lightly. "We want to make sure that we don't undo all the good work the community has done to get us in this position."

Q Covid Zero still the goal?
Barr: "NSW have been problematic for the nation throughout this process, and they're incredibly problematic for the ACT given we're a jurisdiction sitting wholly within that state and we are seeing incursion of the virus outside the Sydney area">>

Barr: "We have been at risk from NSW, we are at risk from NSW, & we will continue to be at risk from NSW in the weeks&months ahead. We have an objective to try & get the no. of people infectious in the community as close to zero as possible. Today has not been a good day on that"

Barr: Evidence shows it spreads through households once it gets into them. "What we're seeking to limit is the more random transmission between strangers. That is a challenge. But if there's any jurisdiction in Australia that can achieve that ... it's the ACT."

Q So the goal is no longer Covid Zero?
Barr: "We will do our best to contain this virus and we have put in place a set of measures that have been effective in avoiding a Sydney-like situation for Canberra."

(He continues, but... Sounds like a No on achieving Covid Zero tbh)

Q How do you balance covid damage v damage of another lockdown month?
Barr "This is one of the most challenging balancing acts that any government anywhere in Australia has to face. It's not a choice between a good option and a bad option. It's a choice of what's the least worst"

Barr: "There's not a nirvana at the other end here" given we're still at 50% vaccinated in Canberra. "The choices are Not Great or Terrible, and they're the two options we have."

Q Who are the people infectious, why should rest of the community cop it cos of their behaviour?
Barr says many are essential workers who don't know they're infectious til they develop symptoms 3 or 4 days after. And, like other cities, it's spreading in vulnerable communities.

Barr says this "proves once and for all that Canberra is not some elite, white collar, public sector city, that it is very diverse and has people from all backgrounds, and all socio-economic status", and so there have been the same virus spread challenges as Sydney and Melbourne

Q Why can Yr12s return before 2 doses fully effective?
Barr: They'll have that first dose protection, many will have developed full protection by the time Term 4 arrives. "There will be covid safe arrangements in place" and the fact colleges are different schools reduces risk too

Barr says there will also not be a lot of classroom teaching in that early period, rather preparation for the AST.

Q Vax mandate for teachers, students?
Barr: No. "Mandates are, in the ACT context, largely a solution looking for a problem. We have no issue with vaccine hesitancy in this community. We've got more than 95% take-up of vaccines across the cohorts that have had access"

Barr cont: forward bookings for under 50s suggest those high rates will continue.

"It's a different community, a very well-educated and engaged community, who are interested in protecting the health of themselves and each other. Which is a wonderful community to live in."

Q 70%, 80%, where's the detail?

Barr says the detail's in the plan, but it's basically what happened when Canberra was coming out of lockdown last year. Slow steps through density limits etc

Q But there was no vax last year

Barr: There's still a need for density limits etc

Q Vax for small kids won't be approved this year. Isn't it owed to those families to mandate vax for teachers?
Barr: "We've got a very strong level of vaccination among teachers and a priority program, so I don't believe it's going to be an issue" requiring a vax mandate.

Q Then why the delay on returning young kids?
Bar: You've got to vaccinate the people around the kids. In the ACT, "our pace of vaccination is going to accelerate rapidly" as supply picks up, we've got 77% w first dose now. We should be able to go from 70-80% in five days.

Barr: "Implicit in a vaccination coverage of 95% or above, is that your teaching population is also going to be vaccinated at 95% or above. And it's pretty clear from the take-up of our priority vaccination opportunities for teachers, they are coming forward to get vaccinated."

Q Will Canberrans be able to travel interstate by Christmas?

Barr: "Based of course on the decisions of the other jurisdictions. I don't control the borders of WA, Tas, SA, NT etc. But, we would hope so."

(.... I'll be honest, that one got me. I miss my people. I'm so lucky that so many of my people are here in Canberra. But... I miss my people who aren't.

Today sucks, Canberra. Hang in there. 💜)

On business support grants, Barr says $17.26m has now been paid out to ~1100 businesses so far.

Q When might childcare centres open up for more people beyond essential workers?

Barr: There's a review point of lockdown rules in two weeks, "but I think it would be likely that while we remain in lockdown, they will be there for essential workers for the next four weeks."

Lots of discussion re lockdowns balance, jurisdictional discretion on the National Plan etc

I'm a long way behind,I gotta prep a show, I'm tapping out of the policy discussion tweets, but defs worth listening back (which you can via @abccanberra facebook) if you're interested

@abccanberra CHO with some more info on the virus incursions

Of 8 incursions:
6 from NSW
2 from Vic (1 someone who got an exemption, tested on Day 1, so the system picked it up as it was supposed to)

@abccanberra CHO: "At this point, with our vaccination coverage not at a high enough level," if there are ongoing incursion, "the risk very much continues to be there."

CHO: There's a small chance the cases trend could increase a little bit, but keeping restrictions in place means we don't anticipate that being a big increase. Over the next 2-4 weeks "we will start to see that decline... hopefully."

CHO: "Aiming for zero who are infectious in community is a really good first start. But I would caution that this might be the start ... that we will be seeing a steady level of cases" as the National Plan outlines, that we're aiming to avoid escalation thru vaccination.

(In other words, reading between those lines... yeah, doesn't sound like the CHO thinks Covid Zero is a thing for the ACT anymore either.)

Q Could we move to allowing outdoor dining?
CHO: We did look at that opening first last year. "All of those options are being worked through over the next two weeks. My colleagues in other jurisdictions, we are working really hard" to find a plan to counterbalance spread.

CHO on giving biz a plan: "We are going as fast as we can in reviewing the ever-changing evidence base. ... But we don't want to raise false hope, and we don't want to give false ideas to people. I don't want people to be working towards something that we aren't very sure about."

Well.

That's that for today.

Thank god for Song Challenge Tuesday.

Chat to you at 3:30 on @abccanberra, team. Make yourself a drink and come hang out 💜

/ENDS