Update: The ACT has recorded its first case of coronavirus.
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A 30-year-old man became unwell on Tuesday and presented to the Weston Creek walk-in centre on Wednesday.
The ACT government is seeking to reassure Canberrans anxious about the threat of coronavirus, as it ramps up preparations to combat any outbreak in the nation's capital.
With still no recorded cases of COVID-19 in the ACT as of Wednesday night, Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said there was "no cause for alarm" and Canberrans should continue to "go about their daily lives as per usual".
The reassurances came as Mr Barr said he was considering some form of stimulus package to help the territory cope with the economic shock of the global health emergency.
It would come on top of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's multibillion-dollar suite of measures aimed at preventing the Australian economy falling into recession, which was due to be unveiled on Thursday.
While publicly calling for calm, the ACT government is working behind the scenes to prepare its response to a potential outbreak in Canberra.
Government services are operating in a largely business-as-usual fashion in the absence of any local COVID-19 cases.
But the various agencies are preparing to spring into action if and when cases start to emerge.
Education Directorate deputy director-general David Matthews said a school might be temporarily closed if one of its students or staff members contracted the virus - in line with the response enacted in other states.
Transport Canberra's Ben McHugh said it was prepared to potentially make changes to bus and light rail services if advised to do so by health authorities.
Dr Coleman said "extensive planning" was being done to prepare for confirmed cases, with authorities firmly of the view that it was only a matter of time before they emerged.
She said a health sector response plan was close to being finalised, which would help decision-making throughout the different phases of a potential outbreak.
Canberra Hospital and Calvary Public Hospital were well prepared to treat patients with coronavirus, she said.
Canberra Health Services chief executive Bernadette McDonald did not respond directly when asked if dedicated coronavirus wards would be established in the hospitals, but said there was "infectious disease protocols in place to safely assess and manage any patients with viral infections, including coronavirus".
"These measures are designed to protect the health of our staff and patients and include personal protective equipment, isolation and the use of negative-pressure rooms," she said.
The hospital had also developed a special COVID-19 response plan, she said.
Dr Coleman welcomed the federal government's move to establish 100 pop-up coronavirus testing clinics across the country, although she was yet to be told if any would be located in the ACT.
She was closely monitoring how other states and territories were handling outbreaks in their jurisdictions, including the establishment of drive-through testing clinics in South Australia.
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While that option might need to be considered in the future, Dr Coleman said at this stage she was focused on examining whether Canberra's walk-in clinics could be used as testing centres.
Even without any cases locally, Mr Barr said the coronavirus was "one of the most challenging public health responses the ACT, and the rest of Australia, has faced in recent memory".
"It will have a significant impact on our community, and on our economy," he said.
Mr Barr said the government was considering a number of "short-term stimulus options" to help the territory weather the economic challenge.
He indicated the territory was better off waiting for the federal government to release its stimulus package before developing its own.
"The ACT government awaits the details of the Commonwealth's stimulus package to be announced tomorrow as this will provide greater certainty as to the sectors of the community and industry they intend to target," he said.
"Stimulus is most effective where it is targeted and the different levels of government are not competing needlessly against each other."