The ACT's quarantine requirements for household contacts of people who have COVID-19 will ease next week.
The ACT government announced today that the restriction would lift from 11:59pm on Tuesday, April 26, bringing the territory's mandatory isolation rules in line with those of New South Wales and Victoria.
The change means household contacts will no longer have to isolate from home for seven days, as long as they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms.
However, they will still be required to minimise their movement in the community and comply with some rules.
Those rules include having to wear a mask in all indoor settings when outside the home, testing for COVID-19 on certain days after exposure, avoiding high-risk settings, and notifying ACT Health that they are a household contact of a known case.
The government has also encouraged household contacts to continue to work or study from home where it is practical to do so, and let their employer know that they are a household contact.
People who are household contacts will also have to continue to avoid high-risk settings, such as aged care facilities and hospitals, unless they reside there or need medical care.
The government said in its statement that people could still work or study outside of the home where there was "a mutual agreement to attend work or study".
Individuals in that situation must undertake COVID-19 testing and return a negative result in the 24 hours prior to returning to work or study and then every 48 hours if ongoing attendance is required.
Exceptions also apply for those needing to attend certain gatherings such as funerals or to vote in an election, but only if they have returned a negative test in the 24 hours prior to attending.
Change brings ACT into line with NSW, Victoria
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the changes aligned with those made in NSW and Victoria wherever possible, while accounting for local conditions in the ACT.
"The ACT government continues to review COVID-19 requirements to ensure that restrictions remain proportionate," she said.
"These changes to quarantine requirements will provide relief to many workplaces and businesses that have been under pressure due to workforce shortages."
There are currently no changes for COVID-19 positive cases, and the seven-day isolation requirement remains in place.
But people who have recovered from COVID-19 do not need to isolate, quarantine or test for COVID-19 for 12 weeks from their date of clearance.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the government was lifting the restriction from late on Tuesday night to provide enough time to properly update the ACT Health website.
"There are quite a few changes that need to be made to the website — to the advice that's provided to employers, to the directions themselves and to ensure that all of our systems align so that we can support people appropriately with the right advice at the right time," she said.
Ms Stephen-Smith also apologised to those who were waiting for appointments or testing within the Canberra Health Services system, adding that it was experiencing significant wait times.
Now is the 'right time' to ease restrictions: expert
Australian National University Epidemiologist Katrina Roper said it was the right time to be lifting the isolation requirement for household contacts.
Dr Roper said many of those deemed to be household contacts did not test positive to the virus, meaning many were isolating for no reason.
She said the impact of that on the workforce needed to be balanced with the health of the community.
"One quarter to half of all household contacts become cases," she said.
"So if we lock up 100 per cent of all household contacts knowing that potentially 75 per cent of them will never become cases, that is the other way of looking at it."
She said the ACT's strong vaccination rate meant it was the "right time" to ease restrictions again.
"And if you're still nervous then do the right thing for yourself – make sure your vaccinations are up to date – and feel free to wear a mask if you feel uncertain in a situation."
