Coronavirus: More flexibility needed for public servants to work from home, Andrew Barr says

While public servants and government employees have been classified as essential workers, Andrew Barr said arrangements should be made if feasible.

"A lot of people have raised concern with me that public service departments have been deemed essential, and that is the case, but there does need to be flexibility where suitable," Mr Barr told ABC radio on Wednesday.

"It means there will be fewer people in government office buildings and physical distancing is easier to achieve."

Mr Barr said transitions were being put in place for ACT government employees to work from home.

The Chief Minister also said the ACT government was working with childcare centres across Canberra, as the number of children attending has fallen in recent days.

While schools will be running pupil-free days for the remainder of term one, childcare centre remain open across Canberra.

Mr Barr said further advice would be provided to the running of childcare centres, but said managing the viability and sustainability of centres was essential.

"What we have to balance here is that there are care options for those who don't have options to have kids at home," Mr Barr said.

"Childcare centres are responding well to putting in place increased hygiene measures, but we acknowledge of course that for young children it's very difficult to keep them apart.

As social distancing measures ramp up across the country with new restrictions put in place, the Chief Minister said the new reality was starting to sink in for many people.

He warned against Canberrans making non-essential travel to areas outside of the Canberra region, such as visiting family or friends for the weekend in Sydney.

"It's palpable how much this city has gone into lockdown and how few people are about. We need to sustain this for the foreseeable future," Mr Barr said.

"Until there is a vaccine, we are in this world and we have to manage this kind of living."

The Chief Minister confirmed markets such as the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets would remain open, after the national cabinet implemented a ban on markets across the country with the exception of those that sell food.

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Mr Barr confirmed parking inspectors would focus on illegal or dangerous parking, such as cars blocking loading zones or spaces reserved for medical vehicles.

However, he said resources were being shifted away from patrolling car park time limits.

"We can look at reducing parking fees, but there's a list of 1000 things to do today. It's not the last item but it's not the first on the agenda," Mr Barr said.

"There are very few cars in car parks now at the moment."