Page 768 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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Disability services—carer assistance
MR MILLIGAN: My question is to the Minister for Disability. Under current social distancing rules, only two people are allowed to socialise. How do people in care who need a full-time carer move about the community to visit or socialise with friends or relatives?
MS ORR: I thank Mr Milligan for his question. I note that I have been receiving similar representations and questions from the shadow minister for disability, Ms Lee. It is a very important question and one that we are working through. We are working with the NDIA as well to make sure that we are providing suitable guidelines so that people who have caring responsibilities or are employed to have caring responsibilities and to support people with disability can go about their business and provide that support.
MR MILLIGAN: Minister, are there any exemptions to the two-person rule with people with disability?
MS ORR: In a word, yes.
MR WALL: Minister, how has such information been communicated to the disability sector and what further steps will be taken to ensure that they are kept informed?
MS ORR: I thank Mr Wall for the supplementary question. The majority of the communication has been coming through the NDIA to NDIA providers so that they have to up-to-date information. The ACT government are also looking at ways that we can support that communication to make sure it is reaching as many people as possible. I have also been on the phone, and the directorate has been on the phone, to a range of our stakeholders and our community service partners to make sure we are hearing what concerns they have and that we are responding appropriately.
Health—COVID-19
MRS KIKKERT: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, has the ACT reached the stage of community transmission? If not, what are the latest projections as to when we will enter that stage?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I have been saying repeatedly in my press conferences that, while we have no evidence of community transmission in the ACT at this time—indeed, the four new cases that we announced today all related to overseas travel, including cruise ships—it is inevitable that we will start to see community transmission of COVID-19 in our community. The Canberra bubble does not protect the ACT. It does not provide a force field around our community, and we are not immune from the effects of this pandemic.
When that will be, we do not know. We have said that we expect this to happen. I think we can reasonably expect it to happen within the next few weeks. None of us has a crystal ball in relation to this issue. Things have been moving and changing very
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