Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said COVID-19 remains a risk in Australia while the country continues to receive international arrivals. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Almost 300 Canberrans have filled out the COVID-19 online declaration form after returning from Western Australia in the past fortnight, but none have needed to enter quarantine, the ACT’s Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said on Monday morning (3 May).
Three cases of community transmission were recorded in Perth on Saturday (1 May), but no new cases have been recorded since.
A new ACT Public Health direction came into effect from 6:00 pm yesterday and requires people entering Canberra who have been to the Perth or Peel regions in the previous 14-days to fill out the form.
People already in the ACT who have been to the same regions must also fill out the online declaration form and have until 5:00 pm today to do so.
Anyone who has been in the Perth or Peel regions since 27 April should immediately check the WA Health website and get tested immediately, quarantine and call ACT Health (6207 7244) if they have been to an exposure site.
Those who have been to a casual contact exposure site may isolate until they receive a negative test result.
Anyone who has completed the declaration form in the past 14 days does not need to complete it again unless they were in the Perth or Peel region on or after 27 April.
Canberrans are also being discouraged by the government from travelling to WA due to the developing situation. ACT Health has warned those who choose to travel anyway should be prepared for things to change quickly.
Dr Coleman said COVID-19 would be a risk in Australia as long as the country continues to receive international flights but that the ACT health authorities were well-versed in managing the risk.
“The measures that we have in place at the moment are very suitable to identify people and then support them in quarantine if we need to monitor them,” Dr Coleman said.
“We have been dealing with this now for over 18 months. We are very well practised at it.”
A single active case of COVID-19 remains in the ACT, a returned diplomat in his 50s who travelled to Canberra after flying into Sydney airport last week.
More information on travel restrictions and quarantine requirements can be found at www.covid19.act.gov.au.
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