Canberra has reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm Wednesday, and the sixth death linked to an aged care outbreak has been confirmed. Of those 46 cases, 30 are linked to known cases or ongoing clusters and 22 are household contacts. Eighteen of the 46 new cases were in quarantine during their whole infectious period, while 16 were assessed as presenting a risk of transmission to others. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said while lockdown was finishing at the end of Thursday, Friday was not the end of the pandemic. Mr Barr said that was why the ACT was taking such a gentle step towards the easing of restrictions. “Lockdown has not been easy but it has kept our case numbers significantly lower than they would otherwise have been,” he said. “Lockdown has allowed hundreds of thousands of Canberrans to get vaccinated and it has saved tens of thousands of Canberrans from getting very sick.” Since the lockdown commenced there have been 1359 recorded cases of the virus in the territory, 119 people have been hospitalised, 24 have needed intensive care and seven people have lost their lives, Mr Barr said. “For the families who’ve experienced a loved one in hospital, or who have received intensive care, or who have lost someone to the virus, it’s been scary, it’s been shocking and it’s been devastating. “Tomorrow [Friday] is not the end of the pandemic; the virus will continue to spread in the community.” Mr Barr said 98 per cent of the eligible population had now received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. “But the evidence clearly shows one vaccine is not enough,” he said. That was why the ACT was focusing on double vaccination rates, which would keep the rate of hospitalisations down as restrictions continued to ease. “The statistic that matters and the one we will focus on is the percentage of our community which is fully vaccinated,” he said. READ MORE: The number of people in hospital was unchanged from Wednesday at 16, although there are now six people in intensive care – down from eight. There are still five people in intensive care requiring ventilation. There are now 860 recovered cases from this outbreak, 27 whom recovered in the past 24 hours. This means there are now 492 active cases associated with this outbreak. More than 1600 people have self-identified as close contacts and there are more than 380 exposure locations. About 3400 tests were conducted on Wednesday. The ACT has also hit 98.8 per cent mark for first vaccinations for those aged 12 years and over, and is at 74.7 per cent for second doses. A sixth death associated with the Calvary Haydon Retirement Community was announced on Thursday, taking the total COVID-related deaths in Canberra to 10 since the start of the pandemic. It was a man in his 80s who was receiving end of life care. “This brings the number of lives lost in this current outbreak to seven and the total number in the ACT to 10 since the start of the pandemic,” ACT Health said in a statement. “ACT Health extends its sincere condolences to this person’s loved ones and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time.” A statement from Calvary said the resident was receiving end-of-life care before testing positive to the virus on September 28. Contact tracers have identified the source of the outbreak as a resident, despite initial reports a staff member was the source. READ MORE: Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT and the lockdown is 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. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
Of those 46 cases, 30 are linked to known cases or ongoing clusters and 22 are household contacts.
Eighteen of the 46 new cases were in quarantine during their whole infectious period, while 16 were assessed as presenting a risk of transmission to others.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said while lockdown was finishing at the end of Thursday, Friday was not the end of the pandemic.
Mr Barr said that was why the ACT was taking such a gentle step towards the easing of restrictions.
“Lockdown has not been easy but it has kept our case numbers significantly lower than they would otherwise have been,” he said.
“Lockdown has allowed hundreds of thousands of Canberrans to get vaccinated and it has saved tens of thousands of Canberrans from getting very sick.”
Since the lockdown commenced there have been 1359 recorded cases of the virus in the territory, 119 people have been hospitalised, 24 have needed intensive care and seven people have lost their lives, Mr Barr said.
“For the families who’ve experienced a loved one in hospital, or who have received intensive care, or who have lost someone to the virus, it’s been scary, it’s been shocking and it’s been devastating.
“Tomorrow [Friday] is not the end of the pandemic; the virus will continue to spread in the community.”
Mr Barr said 98 per cent of the eligible population had now received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
“But the evidence clearly shows one vaccine is not enough,” he said.
That was why the ACT was focusing on double vaccination rates, which would keep the rate of hospitalisations down as restrictions continued to ease.
“The statistic that matters and the one we will focus on is the percentage of our community which is fully vaccinated,” he said.
The number of people in hospital was unchanged from Wednesday at 16, although there are now six people in intensive care – down from eight. There are still five people in intensive care requiring ventilation.
There are now 860 recovered cases from this outbreak, 27 whom recovered in the past 24 hours. This means there are now 492 active cases associated with this outbreak.
More than 1600 people have self-identified as close contacts and there are more than 380 exposure locations. About 3400 tests were conducted on Wednesday.
The ACT has also hit 98.8 per cent mark for first vaccinations for those aged 12 years and over, and is at 74.7 per cent for second doses.
Aged care outbreak records another death
It was a man in his 80s who was receiving end of life care.
“This brings the number of lives lost in this current outbreak to seven and the total number in the ACT to 10 since the start of the pandemic,” ACT Health said in a statement.
“ACT Health extends its sincere condolences to this person’s loved ones and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time.”
A statement from Calvary said the resident was receiving end-of-life care before testing positive to the virus on September 28.
Contact tracers have identified the source of the outbreak as a resident, despite initial reports a staff member was the source.
ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman. Picture: Karleen Minney.
Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT and the lockdown is 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. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
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