Page37 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 2 December 2020
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South Australia serves as a strong reminder that the pandemic is not over and that we must remain vigilant.
Nevertheless, Madam Speaker, our good position in suppressing COVID-19 has enabled further cautious easing of restrictions, under strict COVID guidelines. This decision was put on pause when the South Australian cluster emerged, until the ACT Chief Health Officer was able to have confidence that the situation had been brought under control and the risk of cases moving into the ACT was low.
As of 9 am today, the ACT has moved to stage 4 of Canberra’s recovery plan. These changes mean that venues can move to a one person per two square metres density requirement in indoor spaces, provided they use the Check In CBR app to collect patron contact details. If venues and businesses are not using the Check In CBR app they must continue to apply the venue capacity rule of one person per four square metres indoors and one person per two square metres for outdoor spaces. Patrons in an outdoor space can eat and drink while standing rather than having to be seated, but people must remain seated while consuming alcohol in indoor spaces.
Cinemas and movie theatres that use the Check In CBR app to collect patron contact details can sell up to 65 per cent capacity of each theatre, up to 500 people per cinema or theatre. Otherwise, cinemas and theatres must continue to maintain 50 per cent capacity. Large indoor performance venues, such as theatres and arenas, and enclosed outdoor venues with permanent tiered seating can have up to 65 per cent capacity throughout the venue, up to a maximum of 1,500 people. Events need to be ticketed and seated and a COVID-safe plan must be in place for each event. GIO Stadium and Manuka Oval can have crowds of up to 65 per cent capacity across the venue so long as each event has an appropriate COVID-safe plan in place. Finally, employees can return to work, with a COVID-safe plan, if it suits them and their employers.
So, Madam Speaker, we continue to move ahead cautiously, recognising that there will always be some in our community who consider that we are not easing restrictions fast enough, while others will have the opposite view. The impact of easing restrictions is being closely monitored to inform future decisions. With the most recent easing decisions taking effect today, the ACT will remain at its current stage until early 2021. Easing restrictions and allowing more people to gather leads to a higher risk, should we see a new case. That is why the Check In CBR app has been made mandatory for most venues to move to one person per two square metres or 65 per cent capacity indoors.
The Check In CBR app, developed in house by ACT Health, was launched in mid-September 2020 and now has around 2,800 venues registered and more than 80,000 downloads. The app is a contactless, secure and convenient way for people to sign into a Canberra venue and data is stored securely with ACT Health for 28 days, in the event that contact tracing is needed.
The app allows contact tracers immediate access to information about who was in a venue at a specific time. The simplicity of the information requested through the Check In CBR app, the security of data and the ability of the app to remember
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