The ACT has recorded seven cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday, as Chief Minister Andrew Barr warns health systems will come under "extreme pressure".
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Two of these cases were in quarantine for their entire infectious period, at least four were in the community while infectious and one is under early investigation.
All of the new cases have been linked to previous cases.
There are five patients with COVID-19 in hospital and two people are in intensive care. Of the patients in hospital, four were unvaccinated and one had one dose of a vaccine.
Mr Barr said today's case numbers were positive but it was too difficult to say if it was a downward trend as numbers continue to fluctuate.
He said restrictions were required to keep caseloads down as states and territories brace for an influx of patients in hospital.
"Extreme pressure is coming to NSW and Victoria's health systems and it would be naive to think that the ACT system won't also come under pressure." he said.
"Whilst COVID-19 continues to circulate in the community and whilst we are working to increase our vaccination coverage, restrictions need to remain in place. Our priority over the coming six weeks is to look to get as many people safely back to work as soon as we can.
"We are also aware of the impacts on mental health of ongoing public health restrictions and we will be supporting a range of mental health initiatives and we will be prioritising more outdoor activity in the weeks ahead."
Mr Barr said the ACT would reach 80 per cent of its population aged 12 and over with a first does of a vaccine today and 55 per cent of this population will have two doses.
He said he was optimistic that the concerns over a drop in vaccine supply from the Commonwealth government could be positively resolved.
"Other states in the middle of outbreaks have been supported. I don't think we've done anything wrong to be treated differently," he said.
The total number of cases for ACT's current outbreak is 625. The total number of recovered cases is 401 and there are 223 active cases.
There are 300 exposure locations listed but there are no new active public site of transmission.
Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan said about 250 cars were turned around from parks and reserves to the west of the ACT.
"The vast majority of people continue to do the right thing," he said.
"We are seeing a little bit of complacency starting to appear."
Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said Canberrans could expect to see Australian Defence personnel on the borders from Thursday and Friday this week.
The ADF will be assisting ACT police with marshalling cars to a safe spot, initial triaging and compliance checks to see if people have a valid exemption or live in an approved postcode, which will be followed up by police.
The Chief Police Officer said freight drivers, especially those coming from Sydney, needed to have evidence of a negative test as this accounted for many of the vehicles that had been turned around.
Mr Barr said the ACT was still committed to four weeks' of remote learning for preschool to year 10 students in term 4, despite Victoria announcing a return plan which would bring young primary school children back to school from October 18.
"Every effort has been made to ensure the safety of students and teachers," he said.
He said year 11 students should book a vaccination appointment with a pharmacy or GP as it may be the fastest way to get vaccinated before returning to school, but the supply issues meant priority appointments were not available for this cohort.
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 935 new locally-acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday. It's the first time the state has recorded fewer than 1000 cases since August 27.
The Southern NSW Local Health District identified seven new COVID-19 cases: three in Goulburn, two in Yass and two in Queanbeyan.
It brings the total number of cases in the local health district to 76, since the start of the current outbreak in June.
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