As each lockdown day smudges into the next, the only thing that seems to differentiate them is the colour of the Chief Minister’s tie as we wait for The Numbers. No ties means it’s the weekend. It’s “Seven Days” in lockdown with IAN MEIKLE. 

TO his credit, Chief Minister Andrew Barr avoids grandstanding and gets pragmatically straight to who’s got what at the daily press conferences.

He passes to Kerryn Coleman, the chief health officer, who shares who’s got what and why, and then to Health Minister Rachel Steven-Smith for who’s got what and where. Rachel is left to mop up the news and praise all the workers. She uses the word phenomenal (“remarkable or exceptional, especially exceptionally good”) a phenomenal number of times. 

Dr Coleman’s bedside manner is brilliant. I could watch her all day if she had the time. I have, but she hasn’t. In taking curly questions from those nosey journalists, she’ll either brightly give or promise analysis or demur, firmly, in the nicest possible way.

Each morning’s “Premier Time” is required viewing. Dan Andrews will glower at Victoria, Gladys Berejiklian will fret at NSW and Andrew, at 11.45am, will be understandably smug at leading a compliant and engaged community hellbent on beating the Delta strain straight back to where it came from.

It’s great to see the Headminister finger wag us naughty kids, admonishing us that if we don’t behave we’ll all end up like, like… Sydney. And we don’t want that, do we kids? No, sir!

Though one wonders if we do manage to escape the Delta clutches, how we will be able to be out of lockdown if regional NSW isn’t. 

In an interview with “The Guardian” Barr said that if the ACT could successfully stamp out the current outbreak, there would then need to be “a range of settings in place that assume constant incursion of the virus from NSW”.

“[And] that every day is a risk, and we are going to live with that every single day, and even beyond 80 per cent vaccination rates,” he said.

“I just see young people being horribly exposed by the decision of another government and I don’t know what I can do to protect my community against that.”

He’s on the way, though, with a steely commitment to getting the ACT fully vaccinated first. 

As he said at one of the press conference blurs: “It’s important people understand it takes two to three weeks for the vaccines to become effective. You don’t get instant protection when the jab goes in your arm.”

He’d warned national cabinet not to relax things the moment the country hits 70 or 80 per cent of vaccine coverage. You think they’ll listen? 

“That movement must reflect the effective vaccination rate, which will lag the headline indicator by about three weeks,” he said. Hence the rush. 

And he’s flagged a commitment to vaccinate students before the end of the school year. 

“Our goal is to have this well underway before the end of the school year, but this depends on available vaccine supplies,” he said.

“But we’re doing the planning. We want to be in a position to vaccinate as many 12 to 15-year-olds before the end of the school year.”

All very impressive. While “CityNews” has grave misgivings about this government’s health, education and budget management, Barr’s pragmatism and priorities for the community have been inspirational. 

The former president of the ACT’s AMA Dr Antonio Di Dio agrees. He told me on 2CC’s “CityNews Sunday Roast” program that, after five years criticising Andrew Barr, in this crisis he rated his performance as “outstanding”. 

BUT no surprises that this year’s highly advanced Floriade and NightFest, set to start on September 11, have been zeroed for the second year in a row because of covid concerns. 

“Obviously, the bulbs have been planted in Commonwealth Park and will bloom through spring. But the government is discouraging large-scale gatherings at this time,” said Mr Barr. 

Those much maligned mobile planter boxes and pots that feature in Commonwealth Park will be relocated throughout the city and suburbs. 

He said the boxes would complement the 300,000 bulbs and annuals already planted by local schools and community groups.

“It will look similar to last year,” he said. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

IN a recent missive to a constituent, Liberal Senator Zed Seselja writes: “Over the next week my office won’t be open for walk-in visits, however me and my staff will be available should you need assistance.”

My staff and I are grateful he’s not the Education Minister!

AN inner-south snout wrote in highish dudgeon grumbling about the (covid risky) public transport working to a normal weekday schedule during lockdown. 

“In other cities they’ve gone to a Sunday/public holiday schedule. The environmental and financial cost would be extraordinary for a government struggling to keep its head above water,” he sniffed. 

But the universe has conspired to change things with the Transport Minister Chris Steel having to switch the timetable this week to “summer services” in the face of 80 bus drivers in quarantine. 

What started as a good idea to list covid exposure sites on the front door of Mitchell’s Canberra Soft Tissue Therapy has grown to wallpaper proportions. The practice warns visitors to check the list and not come in if they think they’ve been exposed to covid. They’re going to have to get a bigger door before this is over.  

Ian Meikle is the editor of “CityNews” and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast” news and interview program, 2CC, 9am-noon.