A Canberra intensive care nurse has been diagnosed with the latest confirmed case of coronavirus in the ACT as health officials urge the community to maintain physical distancing this Easter.
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Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said the Canberra Hospital nurse likely acquired coronavirus through a close household contact who had returned from overseas travel.
The nurse went into self-isolation after developing mild symptoms.
Further investigations and contact tracing are being carried out by health officials and a "small number" of hospital staff have gone into self-isolation as a result of this case. It is not known the exact number of staff in isolation.
Dr Johnston said it was believed the nurse had "minimal interaction" with hospital staff members and had been in contact with one patient at Canberra Hospital diagnosed with COVID-19, but it was unlikely the nurse had reinfected the patient.
She said community transmission had not been recorded as the nurse had acquired the virus through another source.
This case brings the territory's total to 101 cases but was recorded after the daily reporting deadline and will not be included in the official daily tally but will be included in Friday's figures.
A man in his 50s was diagnosed in the past 24 hours as the 100th case of coronavirus and is believed to have acquired it overseas.
The death toll in the ACT remains at two.
More than half of all confirmed cases in Canberra have since recovered from coronavirus; 54 cases have been released from self-isolation.
The number of patients in Canberra Hospital has dropped in the past day but three remain in hospital, two of those in intensive care.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the ACT was doing "very, very well" in reducing the number of new cases in the territory.
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"We have no confirmed evidence of community transmission here in our community," she said.
Ms Stephen-Smith said health workers were being tested only on the basis of symptoms as "surveillance" to identify community transmission.
She reminded the community to stay home this Easter and maintain physical distancing.
Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said social distancing measures were working in Canberra, but urged the community not to become complacent.
"As I have said all this week, please stay home this Easter long weekend. Do not travel to the coast or interstate or gather in large groups with family and friends," Dr Johnston said.
"If you do need to go out for essential reasons, then complying with the rules on physical distancing and practicing good hand and respiratory hygiene are the most important tools in slowing the spread of COVID-19."
New heat-map data is now available on the ACT Government's coronavirus website. Ms Stephen-Smith welcomed community feedback on the data.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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