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Canberra Today 11°/15° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Victorians will be denied entry into the ACT

Chief Minister Andrew Barr

CANBERRA will deny entry to any Victorians from midnight tomorrow (July 7) with Victoria’s situation becoming a “significant concern”, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr.  

Mr Barr made the announcement this afternoon following the decision by NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victoria premier Daniel Andrews to close the border between NSW and Victoria.

“Anyone travelling to the ACT from Victoria [from midnight Tuesday] will be denied entry unless they are granted an exemption by either the NSW government or the ACT government,” Mr Barr says. 

“Residents of the ACT or NSW will be able to return home but they will be required to self isolate for 14 days.”

Before midnight Tuesday, Mr Barr says anyone arriving from Melbourne will be required to quarantine for 14 days at their own expense, or return home.

“Residents of the ACT or NSW will be able to return home but they will be required to self isolate for 14 days,” he says. 

“We are also strongly advising Canberrans to not travel to Victoria for any reason other than absolutely essential purposes. Once you return to the ACT you will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.” 

The ACT checkpoints for Victorians will be at the airport and the NSW government will be checking people coming across the border, Mr Barr says.

At this stage, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says there are no Melbourne flights scheduled to come into the ACT. 

“The ACT will strive for consistency with the NSW system. There will be dispensation for people travelling for essential purposes and for compassionate reasons,” Mr Barr says. 

“[But] it’s important, now, that we do everything we can to protect our community and at the same time support Victoria and the rest of the nation in stopping the spread of this virus. Doing so now will enable the territory to continue implementing our recovery plan.

“The advice from the chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman is that with these measures in place the ACT will still be able to move to stage three of our easing of restrictions roadmap this Friday. We will be moving cautiously though given what is happening in Victoria.

“The changes in stage three are relatively minor and we will have more to say about these in the coming days.”

Today, Ms Stephen-Smith also extended the public health emergency until August 21. 

There are no new coronavirus cases confirmed in the ACT. 

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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