The Australian War Memorial construction site has been listed as a COVID-19 casual exposure site after a positive case visited the location last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The memorial was notified on Friday evening that an individual who was at the Eastern Precinct construction site during the day had tested positive for the virus.
Anyone who has visited the site between 11.20am and 12.30pm on Friday is considered a casual contact and must isolate and get tested.
It comes as the ACT reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday. Nine of the new cases were linked to known outbreaks or cases, while another two cases were under early investigation.
Three had spent their entire infectious period in quarantine, while seven had spent some time in the community. Investigations were continuing into another case.
A memorial spokesperson said there was no evidence the individual visited any of the memorial's buildings.
The COVID case disruption is not expected to delay the demolition of Anzac Hall along Treloar Crescent, they said.
"We expect to work through the challenges presented by COVID-19 and are staffing appropriately to keep the project moving," a spokesperson said.
"We currently expect some movement in our short term milestones but the overall project delivery remains within our approved schedule."
READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS:
The site has since been deep cleaned and released by health authorities after an investigation by ACT Health and Worksafe ACT.
Construction sites were re-opened after a three-week hiatus as Canberra went into lockdown following an outbreak of the Delta variant.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Monday there was always going to be a risk that construction workplaces would become the sites of COVID transmission.
"Construction represents a risk, but there's a lot of measures in place to mitigate that risk," he said.
"So we need continued compliance in the construction sector.
"The feedback from Worksafe, from Access Canberra and ACT Policing is there has been very strong compliance from the construction sector to date."
Anzac Hall's demolition will be completed by mid-September.
A new, larger Anzac Hall will be built in its place once approved and will host a collection of items from more recent engagements in Syria and Afghanistan.
The changes form part of a 10-year plan to expand the Australian War Memorial, which is expected to cost half a billion in total.
Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT and the lockdown is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram