ACT records seven new COVID-19 cases, as Pfizer appointments at mass vaccination hubs open to 12-15-year-olds - ABC News

The ACT has recorded seven new locally acquired cases of COVID-19.

Key points:

• All seven cases are linked to a known source
• Canberrans aged 12-15 can now book in for a Pfizer appointment at a mass vaccination clinic
• Health authorities say the ACT's hospital system will face "strain" as Australia opens up

At least four of those cases spent some time infectious in the community.

However, all seven cases are able to be linked to other known cases, with six of those being household contacts.

Five people are in hospital with the virus — two in intensive care.

There are currently 224 active COVID-19 cases in the territory.

ACT to reach 80 per cent single-dosed, Pfizer opens for 12-15-year-olds

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The ACT records seven new cases as territory's vaccine supply confirmed.

Mr Barr said the territory would today hit an 80 per cent single-dose vaccination rate for Canberrans aged 12 and above, as appointments for Pfizer opened up to more 12-15-year-olds.

"On the vaccination front, from today, parents can book children aged 12 to 15 in for a Pfizer vaccine through ACT government clinics. This is an important step to vaccinate 20,000 Canberrans in this age cohort," Mr Barr said.

"The current advice from the Commonwealth is that we will not see the supply of Pfizer to the ACT government program reduced between September and October, as had been indicated in the papers to National Cabinet last Friday.

"However, we will also not see the increase in supply that had been projected for the ACT between September and October-November."

Canberra children aged 12-15 can now book in for a Pfizer appointment at a mass vaccination clinic in the ACT.(

ABC News: Eliza Laschon

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Mr Barr said Canberrans aged 12-15 should also consider making bookings through local GP clinics or pharmacies.

"Increased supply of mRNA vaccines to the ACT is now currently all projected to be in primary care. That is, Pfizer to GPs and Moderna to pharmacies," Mr Barr said.

"Therefore, if you are looking to get an early appointment for your 12-15-year-old to get vaccinated, we would strongly encourage you to consider doing that through a GP or pharmacist.

"We are in a strong position to provide additional vaccine appointments at the AIS Arena if we have more supply. So we will continue to work with the commonwealth on this point."

Mr Barr said 55 per cent of Canberra's eligible population had now received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

LIVE UPDATES: Read our blog for the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic

ACT hospital system to brace for 'strain' as Australia opens up

Mr Barr reinforced his belief that the territory should not "move too fast" and ease restrictions when 70 per cent of the territory's population was double-dosed.

"We now have a much clearer picture of the significant risks associated with moving too fast at 70 per cent," Mr Barr said.

"The clear advice is that it is prudent to wait until reaching 80 per cent before making major changes.

"I think it's important to emphasise here that our obligations to each other don't end when we are fully vaccinated — you can still get the virus, and you can still transmit the virus to others when you are fully vaccinated."

Health authorities have warned Canberra's hospitals could face pressure as Australia begins to open up from lockdown.(

ABC News: Ian Cutmore

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Mr Barr said it would be "naive" of the ACT to think its health system would not face pressure as Victoria, New South Wales and the territory transition out of lockdown.

"We're also very focussed on the capacity of our health system, the implications of the cross-border demand on our health system coming from regional NSW, and I do note that both the NSW Premier and the Victorian Premier have been very clear that they expect the demand on their health systems to be unlike anything Australia has ever experienced before," he said.

"Extreme pressure is coming to NSW and Victoria's health systems… and it would naive to think that the ACT system won't also come under pressure.

"So we plan to ease restrictions as we transition through the vaccination phases. But [these phases] may need to be slowed if we experience significant outbreaks during those times."

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has announced new COVID-19 cases detected in the territory.(

ABC News: Ian Cutmore

)

'Detailed roadmap' out of lockdown not yet finalised

Over the past week, both NSW and Victoria have unveiled detailed roadmaps out of lockdown – each outlining what restrictions would end as vaccination targets were met.

Mr Barr said the ACT was not yet in the position to unveil a similar plan and his government would await more data before releasing one.

"We're not yet in a position to provide the level of certainty that we would like to in relation to when particular vaccination thresholds will be crossed, and the exact nature of the fine detail of those particular settings," Mr Barr said.

"I appreciate that there is a desire to have a finer level of detail, and that will certainly be coming, the closer we are to the point at which we ease restrictions, the more definitive we can be.

"There will be checkpoints at the end of this month and then in mid-October to be able to provide a further level of detail at those points. Noting, of course, that the further you are projecting into the future, the more speculative and heavily caveated roadmaps become."

Mr Barr said he understood Canberrans wanted clarity, but that the government was still assessing what the future of COVID-19 in Australia looked like.

"There's nothing safe at all about COVID … so I have been very deliberate throughout this process of not wanting to guarantee to people that there will not be more case numbers, more hospitalisations, more people in intensive care and potentially more deaths even at 80 per cent," Mr Barr said.

"It's fairly clear from the advice from NSW and Victoria around when they would be expecting, under their proposed roadmaps, to reopen… There's going to be extreme pressure on the health system in NSW, particularly in October – and potentially a further wave."

Mr Barr said any "short-term" easing of restrictions would be weighed against the potential to cause a future spike in case numbers.

"One of the issues to grapple with here … is that our approach is targeting a safe Christmas and a safer school holiday period," Mr Barr said.

"I think the decisions that are made over the next four to six weeks will go a long way to determining what summer looks like. I think it would be really unfortunate if the Christmas gift to the nation was the highest ever number of cases.

"I realise that people want short-term outcomes, I understand that. But we shouldn't sacrifice the medium and long-term for the sake of a short-term sugar hit."

COVID-19 complacency creeping into territory, police say

ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan said police had noticed complacency creeping into the territory during their compliance activities.(

AAP: Lukas Coch

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ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan said some Canberrans had been caught bending the rules in recent days.

"We are seeing a little bit of complacency starting to appear across the territory, and we really ask people to stay the course and stick to the rules. I'd just like to remind Canberrans that all reserves to the west and east… remain closed," Mr Gaughan said.

"Border compliance activities continued over the weekend, and since Thursday, September 16, we've conducted 7,400 traffic stops with more than 40 turnarounds.

"Since the commencement of the lockdown, we've actually stopped in excess of 26,000 motor vehicles. And again, the vast majority of people continue to do the right thing."

Commissioner Gaughan also said the Australian Defence Force had been utilised on the NSW-ACT border for the first time in the territory's history.

"They will have three main functions. The first one will be to assist ACT Policing with the marshalling of vehicles, but they will not actually stop the cars," he said.

"The second thing they'll assist us with is actually that initial triaging and the initial compliance checks with two primary focusses: one to see if a person has a valid exemption and secondly to see if the person resides in one of the 10 postcodes within our region.

"And the third thing they will do is just have general conversations with the public in relation to the health directions and provide assistance."

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA5LTIwL2FjdC1yZWNvcmRzLW5ldy1jYXNlcy1vZi1jb3ZpZC0xOS8xMDA0NzU5NjDSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAwNDc1OTYw?oc=5

2021-09-20 01:50:27Z
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