No interventions are left that would stop the spread of COVID-19 in the community, while a mask mandate would prove unenforceable and only have a marginal effect on curbing the virus, the ACT's Chief Minister has said.
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Andrew Barr also said vulnerable people in the community would be more likely to come forward for extra doses of COVID-19 vaccinations if they were made available to them, but take up would never reach the peak of the initial two-dose coverage.
"I think the chances of getting 20-year-olds to get any more vaccines is almost zero," Mr Barr said.
Just 77.4 per cent of the Canberra population aged 16 and up has had three doses of a COVID vaccination. Fourth doses are presently only available to those aged 65 and over and people with health conditions that make them more susceptible to the virus.
Mr Barr said a more significant decision would be to expand access to COVID anti-viral treatments.
"That, I am told, is the one decision that would make the biggest difference to treating the very small number of people for whom this becomes a hospitalisation episode," he said.
"What I can say is that the advice from Canberra Health Services is that whereas pre vaccination people who were in intensive care could be there for months and people would be on ventilators and all of that, the average duration now is days not weeks and months, so the severity of illness is down."
There were 135 people in Canberra hospitals with COVID-19 on Tuesday night, including five people in intensive care.
The ACT reported 1477 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday - amid a new spike of infections driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Those aged 25 to 39 made up 28.6 per cent of the newly reported infections on Wednesday.
Mr Barr said the territory's cabinet was briefed on Wednesday morning by the Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, who had said only small adjustments to health restrictions would now make any difference.
"Even if you locked down for six months, you would not stop this - and no one is countenancing six months of lockdown. But the modelling is showing our one or two people in the intensive care on a short stay is expected to continue," Mr Barr said.
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State and territory health officials have sought to encourage people to wear masks indoors and in places they are unable to maintain a safe distance from other people, but all have stopped short of mandating a fresh set of restrictions.
"A mask mandate universally would be unenforceable. People just won't do it. There would be widespread civil disobedience and it would just be impossible. I don't think any government is countenancing that," Mr Barr said.
"There is clearly a role for ongoing mandates in certain settings and so I think that's where the focus will be. ... But in order to eat and drink at a venue, you have to take your mask off, so the idea of applying it in supermarkets but not in restaurants is [unworkable] ... and its ability to limit the spread is marginal.
"There are now no more interventions that can stop this."
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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.
