THE past 48 hours has been Canberra’s busiest period of testing since ACT Health began local testing in February, says ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman. 

ACT Health conducted almost 900 tests in the past two days and even though the number of negative tests have reached 16,962, there are still no new cases of the virus in Canberra.

“A significant portion of our high test figures over the last two days has been from testing conducted on our returned Australians who have been in hotel quarantine since last Friday,” Dr Coleman says.

“The decision to conduct voluntary testing for our returned Australians, who will finish their two-week quarantine periods at midnight tomorrow, was based on the National Guidelines for testing. All returned negative results.

“Although it has been over three weeks since our last active case in the ACT, I remind the community that testing remains the best way for us to know if COVID-19 is active in the community.

“If you’re feeling unwell, please get tested. Either call your general practitioner or present at one of the designated testing sites.

“Symptoms can vary between patients. The most common symptoms can include fever, shortness of breath, sore throat and cough. Additionally, sudden onset of loss of smell, loss of taste, runny nose, muscle pain, joint pain, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite.”