For the first time in almost two months, there are no active cases of coronavirus in the ACT.
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Health authorities confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon, after no new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours and all other patients had recovered.
The milestone came after the remaining two active cases of coronavirus made a recovery from the virus overnight.
The ACT is the first state or territory in Australia to have no coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the virus.
Despite Canberra being free from coronavirus cases for the time being, the ACT's chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman warned the pandemic was still ongoing.
"Today marks the first time in seven weeks our territory has no active cases of COVID-19 and this is because of the strong work the community is doing to stop this virus," Dr Coleman said.
"I want to thank you for practicing physical distancing and making these huge changes to your daily life. Today's news is exactly why we have put these measures into place."
The ACT has had 106 cases of coronavirus since the first case was recorded on March 12.
Of those, 103 patients have recovered from the virus. Three people have died in the ACT as a result of COVID-19.
In the past 24 hours, more than 200 tests for coronavirus have been carried out, bringing the total to more than 8500.
Testing for coronavirus had been expanded to anyone with coronavirus symptoms since last Friday. The expanded testing will run until May 8.
Dr Coleman said it was critical for anyone with symptoms to get tested.
"It's vitally important that we continue testing as many people as possible to know the most accurate representation of COVID-19 within the ACT community," Dr Coleman said.
"I ask everyone who is showing symptoms, or believes they may have symptoms, to get tested as soon as possible at either the drive through testing facility at the EPIC showground, at the walk-in clinic at Weston Creek, or by contacting their general practitioner.
"We are in an excellent position in the ACT and we have the capacity to test anyone who has symptoms, regardless of if they were in contact with people who had COVID-19 or not."
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
