Canberrans can ‘definitely’ make South Coast Christmas plans: Barr

coronavirus, covid-19, lockdown, the ACT, Andrew Barr, coronavirus, outbreak, covid, canberra lockdown

Canberrans can “definitely” make Christmas plans on the South Coast and in Victoria, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has declared, as the territory enters its last week of lockdown. Another 25 cases of coronavirus were recorded in the ACT in the last reporting period, bringing the total number of active cases to 430. With NSW set to reopen from Monday under new Premier Dominic Perrottet, Mr Barr said it was “difficult to tell” what the full impact would be. He said nothing would change in current arrangements between the ACT and NSW until October 15. “Beyond that, we’ll hear from NSW ahead of the ACT coming out of lockdown, and we will make some further announcements,” Mr Barr said. “It remains to be seen exactly what NSW’s policy approach will be around localised lockdowns, and the distinction between the great Sydney area, or local government areas of concern … and freedom and travel around regional NSW. “So there’s a few more steps to go.” MORE COVID-19 NEWS: Mr Barr said despite Victoria lagging slightly behind on vaccination, there was “every expectation” the border would be open by December. “People can definitely make Christmas and summer holiday plans for the South Coast and for Victoria, based on their current vaccination rates,” he said. “It’s the period between October 15 and the first of December, that things will be done in stages. “It will be somewhat dependent on the decisions of the NSW and Victorian governments.” The chief minister warned there were still tens of thousands of second doses set to be administered in the coming weeks. “We’re not going to be doing anything crazy with restrictions or borders until we’ve got that cohort through,” he said. “I don’t really care what NSW do, we will still be cautious.” It comes after the ACT recorded 40 cases on Thursday. 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:

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/139890989/c874fdb0-f837-40b6-9c82-d490af5fa147.jpg/r5_9_4016_2275_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg