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ACT records 24 new virus cases, 10 in ICU

Dominic GianniniAAP
More businesses will be allowed to open from October 29 in the ACT as economic support tapers off.
Camera IconMore businesses will be allowed to open from October 29 in the ACT as economic support tapers off. Credit: AAP

The ACT is preparing to open to all of NSW on 1 November but it is less certain when eased restrictions are slated for Victoria.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr brought forward the relaxation of some restrictions after the territory eclipsed the 80 per cent fully vaccinated milestone.

The ACT will align with NSW's decision to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated international arrivals from November 1.

The reopening of non-essential retail in the ACT has also been brought forward to October 22 with density limits of one person per four square metres in place.

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Masks will no longer be mandatory outdoors from October 29.

Mr Barr said the vaccination rates should give people confidence about travelling for Christmas, the summer holidays and into 2021.

Hotspots in NSW will be limited to local government areas and the threshold for when a declaration is made will increase significantly from the start of November.

ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said it was yet to be seen whether Victoria's daily case numbers have peaked.

Health authorities will assess how eased restrictions in the state impact the level of community transmission over the next two weeks.

It is unlikely that Victoria's hotspot label will be removed by November 1 but the ACT government is working with NSW to implement more localised declarations.

The ACT recorded 24 locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. There are 18 people in hospital and 10 in intensive care.

Just under one in 10 Canberrans with COVID-19 during the current outbreak were fully vaccinated at least two weeks before becoming infected but only three of these breakthrough cases were hospitalised.

Canberra will likely reach the 99 per cent double dose vaccination threshold by the end of November.

The ACT will stop broadly reporting on people who were infectious in the community as vaccination coverage continues to rise.

It will instead focus on cases of rapid transmission and areas where vulnerable people are likely to have been exposed.

Dr Coleman said the ACT will see more community transmission and higher daily case numbers as restrictions ease and linking every case will not be possible.

"COVID zero is no longer here," she said.

But concerns remain about children under the age of 12, who cannot be vaccinated, returning to school.

Dr Coleman said cases will occur in schools, which would be difficult for parents, but the ACT was focusing on the reduction of severe illness.

"While I am not saying kids cannot get very sick, as a proportion it is very low," she said.

The high vaccination rates will also affect the income support payments of some Canberrans who are set to lose hundreds of dollars a week over the next fortnight after the ACT passed the 80 per cent milestone.

The federal government will begin to taper the disaster payments after it removed the territory from its COVID-19 hotspot list.

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