Canberra records 14 new Covid cases as ACT marks two weeks in lockdown

All of the new cases are linked and only one was infectious in the community, "for a very short period of time".

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the one person who was infectious in the community was considered low risk.

"If we get more days like this that is very encouraging that our lockdown is working and that we're able to control the spread of the virus," he said.

Nine people are hospitalised with COVID-19 and an unvaccinated woman in her 40s remains in a critical condition in intensive care.

Mr Barr said some of those people had pre-existing conditions.

Canberra has 190 active cases.

Twelve of the new cases are household contacts and the other two are from existing clusters.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Vanessa Johnston said young people continue to make up a large proportion of infection, with 38 per cent in people aged 17 and under.

46 per cent of cases are in people aged 18 to 44, and 12 per cent in people 45 to 64. A further 4 per cent are in people aged above 65.

There are now about 7000 close contacts identified and 4,300 casual contacts.

Dr Johnston was "cautiously optimistic" as the number of cases in quarantine rather than infectious in the community was heading the right way.

Mr Barr said "spring is going to be difficult" in the ACT and across the country.

He added there would be "very careful management" of the virus in the territory and that coming out of lockdown was a "very delicate balancing act".

"Our vaccination rates whilst nation leading are still not sufficient," he said.

The Chief Minister said the Chief Health Officer would brief government on possible changes to health measures on Thursday afternoon, which would be announced Friday.

"It will be gentle steps forward until the nation reaches those key vaccination targets," he said

Mr Barr said the population aged 12 and above would now be taken into consideration for vaccination targets.

About 37 per cent of the ACT population aged 12 and above is fully vaccinated.

About one third of Canberra's unvaccinated 16 to 29 cohort have registered interest in a Pfizer vaccine, in anticipation of appointments becoming available next month.

The ACT has hit the two-week mark of lockdown, which Mr Barr has confirmed will not end before September 2.

What happens beyond September 2 would be considered next week.

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Meanwhile, vaccination rates of staff at Canberra's aged care facilities have reported a "significant improvement" since lockdown began, with first dose coverage jumping from 44 per cent to 82 per cent.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said there were no further cases linked to the Greenway Views aged care facility where a staff member worked while infectious.

The close contacts of a University of Canberra Hospital staff member who worked while infectious, have all tested negative.

Ms Stephen-Smith said all patients at the hospital would be tested out of caution.

Authorities are preparing open the AIS Arena as a mass vaccination hub as soon as possible to allow the Garran surge centre to return to its original purpose - as a specialised COVID-19 emergency department.

Contact tracers are working hard to determine the source of several unlinked cases that have popped up in the territory, with contact tracers asking some people who have contracted the virus about their movements two weeks before the first case was found.

The list of exposure sites continues to grow, with casual contact sites in Tuggeranong added overnight.

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