Page 2740 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 6 October 2021
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Victoria has experienced a sharp rise in cases in the metropolitan Melbourne area and new cases in some regional areas. Lockdown restrictions remain in place in metropolitan Sydney and Melbourne areas, with snap lockdown restrictions taking effect in some regional areas in an effort to slow and suppress the spread of the virus.
On 30 September, Queensland also implemented stage 2 restrictions for a number of city council areas, including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan, Moreton Bay, Townsville and Palm Island. These restrictions are in place for a period of seven days and include reduced gathering sizes, changed density restrictions and mask-wearing requirements.
The Delta variant continues to present challenges. At this stage of the pandemic, we expect to continue to see identification of positive cases, particularly as the nation progresses plans to reopen in line with the National Plan to Transition Australia’s National COVID-19 Response.
Australia’s experience with the Delta variant mirrors that of other nations. This variant has proven particularly challenging, demonstrating that elimination of the virus is not feasible and that we need to expect a level of community transmission of the virus when we reopen. However, the evidence shows that vaccination has a significant impact on reducing the serious effects of the virus, including hospitalisation and mortality. That is why we are continuing to push forward with the rollout of our nation-leading vaccination program, which will play a strong role in mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 over the coming months.
As I mentioned, New South Wales continues to see high numbers of COVID-19 cases. However, cases appear to have declined from a peak earlier in September. New South Wales reported 8,553 active locally acquired cases in the state as of 4 October.
On 12 August, the ACT declared the entire state of New South Wales a COVID-19 affected area, and restrictions remain in place for anyone travelling from New South Wales to the ACT. All travellers must obtain an approved exemption prior to entry, including ACT residents. The ACT’s standing exemption for New South Wales residents living in the region surrounding the ACT permits entry for the approved essential reasons under the ACT’s lockdown restrictions.
New South Wales residents who live in specific postcodes surrounding the ACT are permitted to enter without an exemption. Standing exemptions have also been developed for New South Wales residents who live within the southern New South Wales local health district or in the New South Wales local government areas of Cootamundra-Gundagai, Hilltops, Junee Shire, Snowy Valleys and Wagga Wagga—parts of the Murrumbidgee local health district—to permit entry into ACT health facilities for urgent or critical health care. This standing exemption also permits a patient’s carer or another support person to enter the ACT at the same time.
As of 5 October 2021, ACT Health had received 35,580 exemption requests from New South Wales travellers since the introduction of the New South Wales travel restrictions between 20 June and 5 October. Of these applications, 16,577 had been approved, 10,029 had been declined, 7,582 had been withdrawn or were requests
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