How Canberrans feel about COVID-19 two years after first ACT case recorded

Within days, the ACT government had declared the territory's first ever public health emergency. A week later, restrictions began to be imposed. Our lives had changed dramatically.

Two years later, and COVID-19 cases in the territory remain steady at about 800 a day. Vaccination rates are high, with more than 93-per-cent of territorians aged five and over double vaccinated.

After keeping the disease largely at bay through much of that time, Delta broke through the city's defences in August last year leading to an extended lockdown. Omicron arrived in December, and now Canberrans - like many others - are now preparing for a new, more transmissible type of Omicron, the BA.2 sub-lineage.

The Canberra Times spoke to Canberrans about how the pandemic has changed their lives, and whether they are afraid of catching the virus.

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Occupation: Artist

How has your life changed in the past two years?

It was actually pretty good for a while because JobKeeper meant that my income actually went significantly higher than it was before. So financially speaking, we were actually doing better off, until JobKeeper finished and then I lost the job with it. So everything came crashing down.

I found out I was pregnant, right before all of that. So I just focused on family life. But yeah, it was quite a change.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

I am vaccinated. I usually wear a mask.

Occupation: General practitioner

How has your life changed in the past two years?

My life has changed in the sense that there are fewer opportunities for me to mix around, go here and there, go overseas. I have to be extremely careful about taking precautions. My quality of life has diminished somewhat.

It has affected my relationship with other people. Particularly with some people who are anti-vaxxers. Obviously, these people and I have clashes of opinion, so it's generated tension.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

We are all triple-vaccinated in my age group, most of us are. I still wear my mask when I go to crowded places, and keep hand-washing and so forth. I still take precautions.

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Occupation: Intern pharmacist and masters student

How has your life changed in the past two years?

I'm an international student from Malaysia. I came here to study in Melbourne, but since COVID hit, I didn't get a chance to really go to campus to study.

I only went to one day of lectures, and then the next day, it's all locked down.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

Because I'm studying healthcare, pharmacy, I have been exposed to high risk environments. As healthcare professionals, we have a basic knowledge on how to protect ourselves in terms of wearing masks, and then hand hygiene, all that stuff.

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Occupation: Full-time mum

How has your life changed in the past two years?

The kids were OK even during the homeschooling, they are big enough. My husband's working at home, it's bothering me a bit. We don't see him much during the daytime; he's in his den. I think we're coping.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

We are a family of five. Two of them already caught COVID but three of us we didn't get it despite living together.

So I mean we just take it as a usual thing now. I don't get scared that the kids will get COVID, they will get it one day.

Occupation: ATM technician, student

How has your life changed in the past two years?

Mason: Work did slow down quite a bit, and I had quite a few days where I wasn't working. But financially, it didn't really affect me all that much, but I'm definitely more busy now, which is nice.

Laura: We're pretty privileged, I think, because Mason's work kept going through all of it. And all my classes just went online. We got out pretty easy, I think.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

Mason: We've both got our boosters. We've both welcomed the masks being off. Other than being triple-vaxxed, we haven't really been doing too much. Obviously trying to keep personal space, which is just something that we like in general, which is nice.

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Occupation: University lecturer

How has your life changed in the past two years?

It's quite similar, it just means we can't go anywhere outside of Australia, really. I think the ACT has it a lot better than most other places.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

Wearing masks and getting vaccinated, that's pretty much all we can do.

We worried a bit more for the kids because they took a longer time being vaccinated, and now they're vaccinated we worry about it a bit less.

Occupation: Artist

How has your life changed in the past two years?

That first COVID case in the ACT closed down the exhibition that I just made a huge installation for. And then they pretty much cancelled a lot of the art workshops that I was running and it meant that I wasn't really able to function as an artist.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

I still wear a mask most of the time when I'm not outside. I probably wear masks more frequently than anyone else when I go to pick up my child from school.

My child was wearing a mask until nobody else was in the class, but he's stopped now.

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Occupation: Public servant

How has your life changed in the past two years?

I have a baby now, it's a very big change. And when you have a newborn, you don't really know that there's a lockdown or anything because all of your time is with them.

What are you doing to protect yourself from the virus now, if anything?

I have a baby, so I have to wash my hands every five minutes. And his hands every five minutes. So yes, keeping very clean. And we still wear masks when required to, check in where we need to. That's about it.

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