Canberrans are being urged to avoid all unnecessary travel to Greater Sydney as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in NSW.
Chief Minister, Andrew Barr said avoiding areas where there have been confirmed cases was the simplest way that Canberrans could help lower the risk of the spread of the virus in the ACT.
“The heartbreaking situation in Victoria shows just how contagious this virus is,” said Mr Barr.
“NSW Health has, so far, done a good job in containing localised cases.
“However, with new confirmed cases being notified daily, there is a risk that Canberrans could bring the virus back to the ACT if they visit areas where there have been confirmed cases.”
He said that given the current COVID-19 situation in neighbouring NSW and Victoria, the Territory was not in a position to signal whether there would be a further easing of restrictions from next Friday, as had been forecast.
“We are striking a balance between containing the spread of the virus and keeping our economy open. While our situation in the Territory remains positive, we have to be mindful of the environment around us,” the Chief Minister said.
“We will continue to carefully monitor what is happening across the border. The Chief Health Officer has a further checkpoint on Thursday next week and we will continue to provide updates on changes throughout the coming week.”
He said any further easing of restrictions would be relatively minor.
“It is very unlikely that we will moving to larger groups gathering in the near future, as has previously been envisioned as part of future easing of restrictions in the ACT.”
“The basics will remain the same, and they will likely stay with us until the public health risk from the virus is significantly reduced, either with a vaccine or improved treatments,” Mr Barr said.
