The ACT has confirmed its first case of coronavirus.
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A man in his 30s became unwell on Tuesday, reporting symptoms including a fever and fatigue, and went to the Weston Creek walk-in centre on Wednesday.
He returned a positive test on Thursday morning.
ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said the man had not been overseas in the past 14 days but had been overseas beforehand.
She said the man had been outside the ACT and it was most likely he had contracted the virus in Australia.
He had been taken to Canberra Hospital and was stable.
Health authorities are working to contact those who have come into close contact with the man within the past 14 days.
It's not known if the man had been exposed to a known case of coronavirus, or was linked to the ADF member who flew into Canberra last month while infectious.
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Dr Coleman said the patient had self-isolated and there had been no general community exposure.
Until the announcement, the ACT was the only state or territory yet to report a case of the virus.
Because he had not been overseas in the past 14 days and had not come in contact with a known case, the man would not have fulfilled the ACT's current guidelines for testing.
Dr Coleman said he was tested because he had symptoms and had a history of overseas travel.
She said despite the positive test, there was no cause for panic in the Canberra community.
"Now is the time for us to remain calm and come together in the community. We had been expecting [a positive case] for weeks," she said.
"We're now part of the club, every jurisdiction has at least one case of COVID-19.
"We are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the ongoing safety of staff and patients, we have been practicing for this for many weeks now.
"We can reassure everyone that hospital and health staff are prepared for this."
As of Thursday, there were more than 120 cases across Australia, with 77 confirmed in NSW.
There have been 441 negative tests for the virus in the ACT.
It came as the World Health Organisation moved to declare the worldwide outbreak a pandemic.
Dr Coleman on Wednesday said extensive planning had been done in the territory to prepare for confirmed cases.
Canberra Hospital and Calvary Public Hospital were well prepared to treat patients with coronavirus, she said.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said large public events such as Skyfire would still go ahead in Canberra despite the first coronavirus case.
"At this point, the advice is there's no change to public events and we'll monitor the situation in coming days and weeks," Mr Barr said.
"The [coronavirus case] is not cause for alarm and it is not unexpected."
The Australian Medical Association has called on the ACT government to quickly establish two dedicated testing centres - one in the north and one in the south.
But Dr Coleman said the government did not believe they were necessary yet.
"We're looking at, and monitoring these presentations moving forward, but we do have the ability to expand our services as required," she said.
"In particular, on the back of the Commonwealth announcement we are working very closely with the primary health network in the ACT as well as the AMA to look at where we might be able to situate those primary care clinics in the ACT."
Opposition health spokeswoman Vicki Dunne called on the government to bring in a drive-through testing station.
She also wants the government to implement a home visit program for potential cases that do not own a car, or otherwise face transport difficulties.
"This would ensure potential cases in self-isolation still have access to health care," she said.
"These measures become especially important as we approach the flu season. If we experience an early start to the flu season, complicated by COVID-19, the ACT's health system will fail."
Mrs Dunne said the government should actively recruit retired GPs and nurses to staff the programs.
"There are also commercial medical agencies that routinely put medical teams together at short notice," she said.
"Now is not the time for bureaucratic processes. Now is the time for action."
More to come