When NSW marked its so-called "freedom day" people queued up for midnight hair cuts, very early morning feasts and out-of-hours gym sessions.
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Dominic Perrottet, who had accelerated the easing of restrictions to put his own stamp on the process, reinforced the party theme by indulging in an amber ale with a few mates, breaking his own rules against drinking while standing up in the process.
Canberrans would be very surprised if our Chief Minister chooses to follow suit. Mr Barr, who has been praised for his leadership during the worst health crisis in Canberra's history, is cut from different cloth.
Ever since the first Delta case in early August he, the Health Minister and their advisers have put protecting the community's health first. That has meant difficult impositions on all of us, and a steady refusal to change course, even under criticism.
Sadly as of Thursday Mr Barr has had to announce seven deaths. Six were from the Calvary Haydon Retirement Community cluster. A total of 10 people have died here since the pandemic began.
In a small city such as ours those deaths will resonate. So too will the impact on the friends and families of the 119 people who have been hospitalised.
This, combined with the fact new infections have been proportionately higher here than in NSW for much of this week - 51 on Wednesday and 46 on Thursday, means a lot of people are anxious about what will happen next.
While much more nuanced than what took place in NSW on Monday, the local changes are still significant.
Gyms, hairdressers, swimming pools, churches, clubs, pubs, cafes and restaurants can reopen subject to strict controls.
Up to 25 people can gather indoors, five people can visit another household at any one time, swimming lessons can resume, up to 50 people can attend a funeral and it is now possible to get married.
And, as of Monday, Year 11 students will be able to go back to the classroom joining the Year 12 cohort who returned earlier this month. Early childhood centres reopen on October 25, the same day pre-school to Year 2, and Years 6, 9 and 10 go back.
While these changes are very welcome, especially for those suffering "home schooling fatigue" or who are sporting the now ubiquitous "COVID-cut", nobody wants them to come at the price of an explosion in case numbers, a surge in hospitalisations and overwhelmed intensive care. That would surely mean many more deaths.
It is still far too soon to see what the impact of NSW's "freedom day" has been. New case numbers won't start to rise until next week at the earliest.
If it is anything like what seems to have happened when Victoria let its hair down for unsanctioned AFL grand final celebrations the consequences could be severe. Case numbers in that state hit 2297 on Thursday, a new Australian record.
The biggest thing this city has going for it is our vaccination rate; the best in the nation as we count from 12 and up, not from 16 and up. This level of protection, which is on track to reach close to 95 per cent if first doses are a guide, is our best insurance against reinfections from across the border.
The other string to our bow is the community's willingness to comply with all the relevant health orders and to work together for the common good.
Easing restrictions is not an excuse to change this. It is, if anything, an even stronger argument for doing the right thing.
While it is pleasant to be able to enjoy some extra freedoms after such a long time in lockdown the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is far from won.
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