What are the changes to Canberra's COVID lockdown restrictions? In place from 5pm September 2

The lockdown is now set to run until at least September 17, meaning Canberrans will now spend five weeks at home under the measures.

However, despite the lockdown end date being pushed back by a fortnight, the government has made changes to health measures to allow for some minor easing of restrictions from 5pm on Thursday.

Here's what they mean for you.

From the start of the lockdown, Canberrans were able to get out of the house for one hour of exercise per day.

From 5pm on Thursday, exercising outdoors can be for up to two hours each day.

As part of the new rules, one household of any size, or up to five people from any household, can gather together outdoors for exercise or for recreation.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr told reporters on Tuesday that the obvious people to include as part of outdoor exercise are housemates and nominated buddies.

"We are asking people to use their common sense here, this is not an opportunity to throw a party," Mr Barr said.

"Don't exposure yourself or your household or your family to unnecessary risk."

The increased times for exercise and recreation outdoors were also implemented to help boost the mental health of Canberrans, who have been locked down.

With the start of spring on Wednesday and warmer temperatures on the horizon as well, ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said it was set to be a boost for wellbeing.

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In good news for parents, outdoor playgrounds will be allowed to reopen.

However, people going to the playgrounds have been urged to maintain social distancing with other people where they can.

Playgrounds that are enclosed will be subject to the "one person per four square metres" rule.

Gatherings inside and at home are still banned under the lockdown rules.

As flagged by the Chief Minister earlier in the lockdown, some construction activity is set to resume in the ACT from this week.

A partial reopening of the sector for large-scale construction sites will take place from September 3, and will only start under strict Covid requirements.

The requirements will be enforced by WorkSafe ACT and ACT police.

While some construction sites have already been able to resume due to the work being classified as essential, such as the new TGA facility in Fairbairn, workers had to provide evidence of their first Covid vaccine or a booking for one.

Residential construction looks set to return to the ACT in some capacity from September 10.

While it has not been confirmed, Mr Barr said work was under way with stakeholders to help develop Covid-safe measures for the sector.

The move would still be subject to the Covid situation in Canberra not deteriorating any further between now and September 10.

The extension of the lockdown has also meant school students will continue to learn from home for the foreseeable future.

Schools in Canberra will stay closed for the rest of term 3.

Arrangements for term 4 were still being planned for, with further details set to be given to families in the first week of the school holidays.

Term 4 in the ACT is set to begin on October 5.

Mr Barr said on Tuesday that it was too early to speculate on what conditions would be needed for students to return to the classroom.

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Students of essential workers who cannot learn from home, as well as vulnerable children, will still be able to attend their normal school to be supervised by teachers.

Early childhood centres, as well as out-of-hours school care will also remain open for students unable to be looked after at home.

The government also announced on Tuesday it was intending to reopen some businesses that operate mostly outdoors.

Among those included are gardeners and landscapers, who will be able to return to work, provided Covid precautions in place.

Dog grooming services will also be allowed under the new public health directions.

The territory government has also flagged plans to allow more retail businesses to be able to open but only for click and collect or delivery.

It comes after restrictions were introduced for essential businesses last week, such as hardware, building supply and pet stores to only open for "click and collect and delivery", with some exceptions for tradespeople.

The new restrictions also includes some provisions for weddings and funerals, as well as some religious ceremonies.

The limits on the number of people able to attend a funeral has increased to 20 people, which excludes the number of people needed to conduct the funeral service.

Weddings will also be able to go ahead with more people, which has increased to a maximum of 10 people.

However, the limit of 10 people includes the two people being married and two witnesses, but does not include the celebrant.

Time-critical religious ceremonies are also able to go ahead, but with no more than 10 people in attendance, excluding those conducting the service.

With the lockdown being extended for another two weeks, financial assistance for businesses affected by the restrictions will also increase.

Covid business support grants from the federal government will now rise to a maximum of $20,000 for employing businesses.

For non-employing businesses that are eligible, maximum payments will now sit at $7500.

Since the start of the scheme, more than 3200 ACT businesses have submitted applications for the financial support measures.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also confirmed that Canberrans who have been unable to work during the lockdown will still be able to access Covid disaster payments.

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