ACT Health is attempting to trace contacts for a bus passenger on 17 March. Photo: File.
ACT Health is attempting to trace suburban bus passengers who may have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 last week and is asking for public assistance.
Seven new cases of coronavirus have been announced in the Territory this afternoon. The new cases include two males and five females, aged between 21 and 75.
ACT Health says that the seven new cases are all linked to overseas travel and contact tracing is taking place. Flight details will be uploaded to the ACT Health website.
But health officials are also trying to trace passengers on a bus last Tuesday when a previously confirmed case caught the number 31 bus from Dickson Interchange to Kaleen.
When asked whether this was the Lyneham High student who tested positive, Acting Director Communicable Disease Control Section of ACT Health Dr Vanessa Johnston said she could not comment on individual cases but number 31 left Dickson about 3:50 pm on Tuesday, 17 March. This bus was scheduled to leave Dickson interchange at 3:33 pm but was running late and departed at 3:50 pm.
Passengers who were on this bus should self-quarantine until 31 March and contact the Communicable Disease Control Section of ACT Health on 5124 9213 for more information.
Dr Johnston said ACT Health was advised of the confirmed case’s bus travel yesterday afternoon.
She said there was still no evidence of community transmission in the ACT.
There have been 2780 negative COVID-19 tests in the ACT to date. There are currently three COVID-19 patients in a stable condition in Canberra hospitals. The rest are isolating at home with ACT Health support.
At least one of them is a passenger from another cruise ship other than the Ruby Princess.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the ACT would not be stopping travellers from overseas returning to the ACT.
“That’s part of our responsibility, to ensure our residents and citizens who are part of our community can can come home if they’ve been overseas,” she said.
“We would not be requiring people to stay in Sydney or Melbourne, whatever the port of arrival is, and not be able to come home to Canberra.
“And we certainly wouldn’t be doing that just for the reason that we don’t want to have someone in the ACT in self-quarantine who comes back.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said the number of close contacts of those cases had been very small.
The Minister also flagged cuts to elective surgeries to free up hospital capacity along the lines being announced elsewhere.
“Around the country, jurisdictions have moved to reduce the number of category 2 and 3 elective surgeries in order to create capacity within their hospital systems, but also to enable staff to prepare for what could be a very significant impact if we start to see widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in Australia.
“We are moving in that direction,” she said, saying patients could expect to be contacted in coming days.
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The young ones think they are invincible if contracted the disease they wouldn't die. My flatmate who had sore throat and cough, went to enjoy a birthday celebration in Wollongong. She works as a pharmacist.
Won't not follow the rules There is no one who can do the policing.
Rodrigo you bought your scooter at the perfect time!
People are so stupid. We were told to self isolate. If we don't have to go to work stay at and indoors. The longer we don't do this the longer it goes on.
AJ Carrol re isolation was only for people that arrived from overseas on or after Monday 16th March.
The Lyneham high kid it was said did not go overseas but he was a contact of someone who had been. Now seeing as it has a 4-6 day incubation period plus 24 hours where one can be infectious but not showing symptoms then it can be safely assumed that the person who this kid got it from was not under any obligation to self isolate.
And even if self isolation for returnees was made retrospective which I personally think it should have been it would have been too late anyway as the kid would have been infected closer to 11/12 March.
No I didn’t ride it but if this event or our response to it drives us into the Stone Age I am going to wish I’d licked all the poles and hang straps on the bus.
I hope the bus driver is also self-quarantined.
Disappointing that Transport Canberra was so slow to put precautions in place.
Gee Genevieve I would have expected a better headline than this from you. I’m a regular bus user who catches that bus. No wonder people are panicking. What about a headline “ACT Health seeking public assistance” instead of labelling it a COVID19 bus? Wow.
Yeah it is just sensational nonsense and has whipped up some interesting panicked comments.
Now that I am linked to The ROIT Act afyer having been warned that it may be an “Unsafe” app., I want to ask since we all now live in a Surveillance State (this ACT !) WHY HASN’T ‘Action’ interrogated the accounting database of its customers who MUST HAVE LOGGED ONTO THE BUS ticketing system WHO that 31 Bus from Dickson to Kaleen had aboard as paying Pax ?? SURELY, if they can debit the customers Tag-On Card account for that ride, then SURELY ‘Action’ could identify whose Cards Tapped On ?? AND then too we have the CCTV video tape as well the better to MATCH the card tappers with the Pax pics.
I say “surely” because I am confident that there will be some insuperable softyware glitch that will prevent ‘Action’ being able to do that. Passengers who were aboard are invited to contact …
Goodness, what a crazy infectious whirl we are spinning in now.
Goodnight Nurse.
Not everyone has a registerEd myway card, noIt everyone updates their details if they move and not everyone pays with one either.
But for those that do have a registered card with right contact details then it should be possible to identify and contact them. There is nothing to suggest they haven’t.
Has anyone come out with info on the Lyneham student who was infected… Did he or she go on the tram? Have any others tested positive? Did they go on the tram? These kids all seem to use the tram….. just concerned
They announced that the kid did not go on the tram.
Bit can I suggest you read the article and put 2 and 2 together as others have done?
thank you but there was no need for you to be nasty, I wasnt… have a nice day and stay safe
Gee you are a little precious if you think what I said was nasty.
Given how long this virus stays on surfaces for, they need to detail every route after that the bus was used for.
Transport Canberra
Michael Babb totally agree, and was the bus or are the buses being regularly cleaned and sanitised?!?
I hope Health are including driver assessments too. Such high risk - no protection for drivers.
Plenty of people arriving home from overseas who have gone shopping for groceries. Not self isolating. Known this to have happened in Sutton area.
Sue Skinner you can report them
Sue Skinner report them
Sue Skinner they could have easily asked family or friends to shop for them and leave on the front step.
Good to see self isolation working.
It was bound to happen - can’t believe public transport is still operating!
Sherree Bush people who work in essential services still need to get to/from work 🤦♀️
Yep - it’s called walk, ride, drive or car pool
Sherree Bush guess you drive
Jessica Hitchens real mature
Sherree Bush that's not an option for everyone. Check your privilege.
Just stay isolated if you have come back from travel. It really isn’t a hard concept.
Nitish Kumar in Kaleen 👌
Any new arrivals from overseas, regardless of their citizenship status, should be placed straight on a bus and straight to state run compulsory 14 day quarantine. Problem solved!
Michael Blythe that is exactly what we need, why is the government not listening at all. A quarantine centre for all new arrivals, not give the people the option to self isolate because they are not going to do it😡
So this person has travelled overseas and has come home and NOT self isolated and then gone out and about on public transportation risking other people I hope they are in trouble for these actions 🤬
Kellie found an article
Not necessarily, they could have been in contact with someone else who had been overseas and contracted it.
Gareth yes but aren’t all people returning required to self isolate for 14 days- the article states these cases are all linked to overseas travel 🤷🏼♀️
Except for those people off the cruise ship. Told they were free to go and then wandered around for four days infecting everyone. It is entirely possible that whoever was on the bus had dinner with someone who’d been to a wedding with someone who met up for coffee with someone who was fresh off the cruise ship and later tested positive. But no one was sick at the time they passed the virus on and/or didn’t know they had been in close contact with a confirmed case until later.
Even if it was a low risk cruise- and ppl where told they could leave ( even if there was the slightest chance 1 person had it ) ppl still should be following recommendations to self isolate,it has been know for weeks now how highly contagious this virus is yet it seems a lot of people just have this meh attitude that they won’t get it or if they do it’s all good not taking into consideration the many vulnerable people in our communities- I personally think if people have chosen to travel knowing this pandemic is floating around then they should take responsibility and self isolate (my opinion) I know everyone is entitled to one and that is mine.
Michael, would explain all the bus precautions now in place (no money, no contact with driver)
I'm surprised they're in this late