Page 812 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 20 April 2021
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Earlier this month New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the Hon Jacinda Ardern, announced that from 19 April 2021 Australians can now travel to New Zealand without completing 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine. This is an encouraging development in the COVID recovery of both nations, and it was pleasing news for many Australians, and Kiwis living in Australia, seeking to travel over the ditch or return home to visit loved ones, as we saw in the media yesterday when these arrangements started.
Across Australia, the situation remains stable and many jurisdictions, including the ACT, are operating under eased public health restrictions as we continue to move into the phase of “COVID normal”. While the situation is optimistic, we must continue to be cautious, as we expect to see instances of new clusters and outbreaks as the pandemic continues.
In the ACT, I am pleased to report that we are doing an excellent job in maintaining COVID-19 suppression, and there continues to be no evidence of community transmission and no recently reported positive cases. Testing remains an important part of our pandemic response as a community, and we continue to encourage anyone with symptoms to come forward for testing.
Our COVID-19 vaccination program rollout is continuing in the ACT, albeit with some adjustments since my last update. The first people to receive the vaccine are those who need it most, initially people with a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and those who are at greater risk of exposure, infection or transmitting the virus. As part of phase 1a and 1b, this includes many frontline workers such as border, quarantine, emergency services and healthcare workers. I would like to acknowledge the incredible efforts of our health staff, who have facilitated the delivery of more than 21,300 vaccine doses as part of our vaccination program to date.
As members will be aware, on 8 April 2021 the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation—ATAGI—communicated advice to the Australian government about the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in relation to reports of a rare and new “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome”—TTS—in the European Union, and one reported case of the condition under investigation in Australia, following vaccination with AstraZeneca. Members may also be aware that two additional TTS cases have since been identified in Australia and, sadly, one person has died.
All jurisdictions, including the ACT, have accepted and implemented ATAGI’s recommendations, key amongst them being that use of the Pfizer vaccine is preferred over the AstraZeneca vaccine in adults aged under 50 who have not already received a first dose of AstraZeneca.
The release of ATAGI’s recommendations has had an impact on the planned national COVID-19 vaccination rollout. The ACT government recognises that safety is absolutely paramount, and we will continue to work to deliver the vaccination program to Canberrans according to the expert medical advice. We have amended our operating procedures in the ACT to ensure Canberrans within the phase 1a and 1b priority groups can still receive their vaccinations.
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