Page34 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 2 December 2020

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9 November 2020, and the nomination of Mr Cain and Mr Davis as Assistant Speakers, dated 17 November 2020:

Pursuant to the provisions of standing order 8, I nominate Mr Pettersson to act as an Assistant Speaker.

Given under my hand on 9 November 2020.

Joy Burch MLA

Speaker

9 November 2020

Pursuant to the provisions of standing order 8, I nominate Mr Cain and Mr Davis to act as Assistant Speakers.

Given under my hand on 17 November 2020.

Joy Burch MLA

Speaker

17 November 2020

COVID-19 pandemic response—update

Ministerial statement

MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Families and Community Services and Minister for Health) (10.23): I rise today to provide the first update to the Tenth Legislative Assembly on the COVID-19 situation in the ACT and the plans, preparations and actions the government continues to take to protect the health and wellbeing of Canberrans. This reflects the commitment made in the last term of the Assembly to provide regular updates at the beginning of each sitting period. I am pleased to report that the ACT remains in a strong position, due to the excellent work of our public health and hospital staff and the cooperation and support of our community.

However, the situation we are seeing overseas is a reminder of the need to maintain specific public health measures and to work together as a community to maintain our vigilance to stop the spread. The number of new COVID-19 cases reported globally continues to rise rapidly. As of 30 November 2020, there have been more than 62.3 million confirmed cases, including more than 1.45 million deaths reported to the World Health Organisation. This resurgence in cases has resulted in many European countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, reintroducing nationwide lockdowns similar to those implemented in recent months in Victoria.

As members will be aware, on 15 November 2020 three community-acquired COVID-19 cases were reported in South Australia, one of these a hotel quarantine worker. These were the first community-acquired cases reported in South Australia in five months. A further 14 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in South Australia on 16 November 2020. This cluster was linked to multiple high-risk settings, including an aged-care facility, a correctional facility and a hospital. SA Health issued several public health alerts to self-quarantine immediately and monitor for symptoms.

Several jurisdictions—Queensland, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Western Australia—implemented border restrictions or quarantine requirements for SA or


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