Canberrans will be asked to do more to identify their contacts if they test positive for COVID-19 and assess the risk of their exposure if they encounter a case, as health authorities ready the ACT to manage more than 1000 new cases a day.
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The changes come as significant community transmission of the Omicron variant takes hold in the ACT, driving a fast rise in people testing positive for the virus and needing care, but health authorities have not recommended tightening restrictions.
The ACT reported 810 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 2683 negative test results, down from 926 positive cases and 3485 negative test results on Tuesday. Roughly 90 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the ACT are now thought to be Omicron.
Chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said the virus was predominantly transmitting at social gatherings and she recommended Canberrans limit the number of people they interacted with to reduce their risk of contracting the virus. She said there had been 40 high-risk settings with at least one exposure, but onward transmission had been lower than in previous outbreaks.
"We do know that we will now exceed well over 1000 cases a day. I'm just waiting for that day and it will come soon. But what this means is we need the community to help us out a little bit more," Dr Coleman said.
"We need you to know other people around you if you have received a positive COVID test or if they have been exposed to COVID. We won't be able to continue to do this for everybody."
ACT Health will continue to report daily case numbers but the figure will be less prominent in future updates.
Dr Coleman said there would be a smaller emphasis on case numbers from test results, and instead health officials would focus on providing treatment to those who need it as soon as possible after potential self diagnosis.
"As we move forward, more and more people will self diagnose on [rapid antigen tests]. We will move towards not requiring a PCR test to validate that, and it's entirely likely for some groups of people we will assume that they have COVID, based on the fact they have symptoms and they've come into contact with someone with COVID," she said.
Dr Coleman said she had not recommended tightening public health restrictions in the ACT, but said if the situation worsened she would consider recommending caps on gathering numbers.
"It's a really difficult position we're in at the moment, because we're doing that fine balancing where we really want to encourage and keep things going but we're also very aware that we're starting to see those impacts on the health system," Dr Coleman said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The chief health officer said caps on gathering sizes could be reintroduced if the situation worsens.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the government was prioritising the ongoing vaccination program to keep the community safe, including reopening the Canberra Airport vaccination clinic, but it would act on any advice to reintroduce restrictions if they were warranted.
"We will of course listen to the advice of the chief health officer and take the necessary measures as advised, but we wouldn't do it with joy," Mr Barr said.
"No one wants to be restricted but if it's necessary from a public health perspective, of course we'll take the advice."
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COVID-19 contacts will be classified as high, moderate or low risk from 11.59pm on Wednesday, dropping previous close and casual contact definitions. In some cases, people will be asked to determine for themselves into which risk category they fall.
High-risk contacts will be people who spend a long period of time with a known positive COVID case, such as in the home, while moderate-risk contacts will have spent some time with a case, such as at a dinner for a couple of hours. Low-risk contacts will have had a brief period of contact with a case.
High-risk contacts will need to be tested and isolate for seven days, while moderate-risk contacts will need to come forward for testing. Low-risk will need to remain vigilant for symptoms.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
