ACT records 22 new COVID cases on Wednesday

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said three people were in intensive care and needing the assistance of a ventilator.

Mr Barr said 12 cases were linked, while 10 cases were still under investigation.

Seven of the 22 cases were infectious in the community.

The total outbreak sits at 804 and one death.

The ACT is set to ease some lockdown restrictions on Friday before further changes on October 15 and October 29, but businesses are set to feel the pain for the rest of the year.

Deputy chief health officer Vanessa Johnston said the source for 88 cases remains unknown and there is 32 separate clusters.

Dr Johnston said the case numbers remain steady across the lockdown.

"When we consider the average across the entire outbreak they are staying steady," she said.

"They're not rapidly escalating, which is giving us the confidence that we need to be able to move forward once we meet our vaccination goals, as outlined in the pathway."

Mr Barr pleaded Canberrans to come forward for testing immediately if they are presenting symptoms.

"One of the factors that is driving this is people not coming forward to get tested as soon as they have symptoms," he said.

"I repeat ... in delaying getting tested for only are you infectious in the community for longer, but you're also impacting on the available treatments for you."

On a vaccination front, Mr Barr said thousands of people are still coming forward for jabs and flagged there is around 145,000 double-dose vaccinations to go until hurdles are met to open.

About 45,000 first doses are needing to be administered in the ACT.

The federal government will reduce COVID disaster payments when states and territories hit 70 per cent vaccination and then end payments when they reach 80 per cent.

Canberra is on track to be the first jurisdiction to reach the 70 per cent milestone in the coming weeks and then the 80 per cent mark soon after.

The payment consisted of $750 per week, provided to people who had lost more than 20 hours of work, $450 per week if they lost between eight and 20 hours and $200 per week for those on income support who lost more than eight hours.

In the first week after the jurisdiction has reached 80 per cent vaccination there will be a flat payment of $450 for those who have lost more than eight hours of work, while those on income support will receive $100.

In the second week, the payment will equal JobSeeker at $320 for the week for those who have lost more than eight hours of work, while the payment will end for those on income support.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced extended support for businesses impacted by COVID restrictions after the ACT ends its lockdown on October 15.

Mr Barr said a joint statement on the extended business support with the Commonwealth will be announced on Thursday.

He said no politician could guarantee that businesses would survive "for the rest of time" even in non-crisis situations.

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The territory government will offer support through COVID-19 small business hardship, commercial tenancy support, and accommodation and tourism venue operator support schemes, and the small tourism operator COVID recovery payment.

Mr Barr also said hospitality businesses would receive relief through license and fee waivers.

These included waivers for the food business registration fee, which will be extended until March 31, 2022, and outdoor dining permit fees, which have been waived for another 12 months until June 30, 2022.

The annual licence fee waiver for some liquor licences has been tapered to provide another 50 per cent reduction for 12 months from April 2021 for eligible licensees.

Mr Barr said payroll tax waivers and deferrals were also available for businesses not already exempt from payroll tax.

"We recognise there will be a need for ongoing support for a good part of the hospitality sector," he said.

The ACT government is still negotiating other financial support for businesses - particularly in hospitality, tourism, arts and personal services sectors - with the Commonwealth. Mr Barr again expressed frustration at the absence of JobKeeper payments from the federal government during the ACT lockdown.

Mr Barr said travel to NSW is still being negotiated, but noted it is likely only vaccinated people would get access to interstate travel.

"If you are unvaccinated, your travel is going to be more limited than if you are vaccinated," Mr Barr said.

"We will confirm this once we've completed our discussions with NSW."

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