Canberra records 17 new Covid cases, bringing total to 618

Canberra has recorded 17 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, bringing the national capital’s outbreak to 619 cases.

Of the 17 new cases, five were in isolation for their entire infectious period and 12 were contagious in the community. Eleven of the transmissions have been linked to existing cases while six remained under investigation.

On Monday, the ACT will open up vaccination bookings for 12 to 15-year-olds at government clinics, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.

However, vaccination appointments at government clinics would not be available until around mid-October.

“While this is a relatively small cohort, we know it is particularly important that we continue our vaccination program to ensure that young people in our community can be vaccinated,” she said.

“While we hope to release new appointments if vaccine supply allows, the fastest path to getting your children vaccinated may be by booking a vaccination through your general practitioner or at a pharmacy.”

Amid concerns Canberra was due to receive 60,000 fewer Pfizer doses in October, Ms Stephen-Smith told reporters the federal Health Minister had reassured the ACT government that was not the case.

“We have received assurance from the Health Minister Greg Hunt that we should not see a reduction to supply in October, but we are still waiting to get that in writing from them,” Ms Rachel Stephen-Smith said.

As of Sunday, 82 per cent of Canberrans aged 16 and older had received a first dose of the vaccine, with 56 per cent of residents fully vaccinated. From Monday, the vaccination rates will also take into account the 12-15-year-old age cohort.

Eight people, aged from under 12 to in their 70s, are in hospital requiring treatment. Two people are in intensive care with one person on a ventilator.

Chief health officer Kerryn Coleman said 376 people had recovered from the virus.

“We have no new additional sites of transmission to add to the list today, and none of our new cases are linked to these current public sites,” she said.

“I have noticed a bit of a trend in this information which is good news. It is starting to give us an indication that we’re not seeing transmission at many public sites.”

A persistent increase in case numbers saw Canberra’s lockdown extended by another four weeks on Tuesday. It is now set to end on October 15.

Asked if the ACT would follow in Victoria and New South Wales footsteps and release a road map, Ms Stephen-Smith said Chief Minister Andrew Barr had already done so.

“The Chief Minister did in fact release that pathway document that sets out some of the changes we expect to see as we leave lockdown,” she said.