ACT Health was confident that there was no risk to the broader community since yesterday’s COVID-19 case, involving a woman in her 20s, ended the ACT’s coronavirus-free run, said chief medical officer Kerryn Dr Coleman.

Dr Coleman said she was “mindful” of the community’s concern about yesterday’s additional case, but there have been no new cases in the ACT in the past 24 hours, which keeps the total at 107 cases. Of them, 103 people recovered and three died.

“The female individual returned to Australia more than a month ago and undertook her mandatory two-week self-quarantine. ACT Health investigations show that she acquired the virus overseas,” said Dr Coleman.

“The two-week quarantine period is in place because the research shows us this is the likely maximum incubation period for the virus, allowing us to identify anyone may develop symptoms during this time.

“Our extensive investigation shows that the individual was most likely to be infectious with COVID-19 while overseas. ACT Health is confident that she would not have been infectious by the time she completed her quarantine in Australia.

“Her ‘low positive’ test result, in addition to information obtained during the investigation, strongly indicates to us that this individual is shedding low levels of dead viral fragments and she is not currently infectious.

“The ACT is still in a great position and we want to use this advantage to do more testing of people with symptoms.

“This will give us the best view of COVID-19 in the community and provide us with the data we need to move forward.

“I am again asking everyone who is showing symptoms, or believes they may have symptoms, to get tested as soon as possible.”

Options for getting tested are at www.covid19.act.gov.au