The Australian region which has eliminated coronavirus
The ACT has become the first Australian jurisdiction to eliminate all known cases of COVID-19.
The last two Canberrans to have the infectious disease have recovered, the ACT government confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
In total, the illness claimed three lives in the nation’s capital with Canberra recording a total of just 106 cases.
The ACT had its first confirmed coronavirus case seven weeks ago. The territory government moved quickly and declared a public health emergency on March 15 after the second case was confirmed in the region.
At the time, it joined Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia in declaring a public health emergency.
While Thursday’s milestone is cause for celebration, health authorities are warning the public not to think the pandemic is over for the region.
“It is important to stress we should still protect the good work we have done,” said ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman.
“Even though we have no active cases at the moment, it's vitally important that we continue testing as many people with symptoms as possible to know the most accurate representation of COVID-19 within the ACT.”
Last week the territory joined NSW in expanding testing to include any person with a fever, shortness of breath, cough, or sore throat.
While only 106 people tested positive for coronavirus since early March, 8,568 people have tested negative so far with authorities still urging anyone with symptoms to seek medical attention.
“Today is an opportunity to say thank you to the people of Canberra and Australia for all the hard work you have been doing to slow the spread and flatten the curve of COVID-19,” ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
She also thanked the Health Protection Service “that has worked so hard on tracking and tracing and providing really excellent advice to people in Canberra”.
The ACT was the last jurisdiction in Australia to record a positive coronavirus case, the ABC reported last month.
The government’s early response coupled with the region’s small population and low density living have helped Canberra stay on top of the virus. While the city’s airport has an international terminal it is not a major hub, and like other airports saw a major reduction in traffic as the outbreak reached Australia.
More than 77 per cent of cases in the region came from overseas, 5.7 per cent from interstate while 16 per cent were locally acquired from a known ACT case. Just 0.9 per cent of cases were locally acquired from an unknown source.
The ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr will address the public on Friday about the potential of lifting restrictions in the region.
“It is important to emphasise that it is not a race to lift restrictions. Some of the announcements that have been made in other jurisdictions are pretty much in line with some of the arrangements that were already in place in the ACT,” Ms Stephen-Smith said, pointing out that people in the ACT are allowed to visit other people’s houses.
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Still the threat of a second wave
Ms Stephen-Smith said it was possible to see a second wave but was waiting on national modelling to inform her understanding of such a scenario playing out across the country.
“We really do not have room for complacency ... (I want) to remind people that we are going to be in this for a long time. There is no vaccine. There is no effective cure for COVID-19,” she said.
“The health services have worked to ensure that we are prepared, if we do see a second wave of COVID-19 in Australia and the ACT.”
Because the territory is unable to close its borders like other states and territories have done, the Health Minister said Canberra had “to do things in line with the National Cabinet” and will rely on federal advice to guide its decision making going forward.
On Thursday, the Northern Territory – which has just three active coronavirus cases – announced a detailed road map out of lockdown with bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants allowed to open in just over two weeks.
Meanwhile South Australia is also increasingly close to eradicating the virus with just 14 active cases as of yesterday.
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