coronavirus, coronavrus, canberra, coronavirus, act, new cases

An intensive care nurse is among two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the ACT. Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said the Canberra Hospital nurse likely acquired coronavirus through a close household contact who had returned from overseas travel. The nurse went into self-isolation after developing mild symptoms. Further investigations and contact tracing are being carried out by health officials and a "small number" of hospital staff have gone into self-isolation as a result of this case. It is not known the exact number of staff in isolation. Dr Johnston said it was believed the nurse had "minimal interaction" with hospital staff members and had been in contact with one patient at Canberra Hospital diagnosed with COVID-19, but it was unlikely the nurse had reinfected the patient. She said community transmission had not been recorded as the nurse had acquired the virus through another source. This case brings the territory's total to 101 cases but was recorded after the daily reporting deadline and will not be included in the official daily tally. It will be included in Friday's figures. A man in his 50s was diagnosed in the past 24 hours as the 100th case of coronavirus and is believed to have acquired it overseas. The death toll in the ACT remains at two. More than half of all confirmed cases in Canberra have since recovered from coronavirus; 54 cases have been released from self-isolation. The number of patients in Canberra Hospital has dropped in the past day but three remain in hospital, two of those in intensive care. One case remains under investigation by ACT health authorities as to how the virus was acquired. They believe there have been no cases of community transmission in the ACT so far. READ MORE: Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said social distancing measures were working in Canberra, but urged the community not to become complacent. "As I have said all this week, please stay home this Easter long weekend. Do not travel to the coast or interstate or gather in large groups with family and friends," Dr Johnston said. "If you do need to go out for essential reasons, then complying with the rules on physical distancing and practicing good hand and respiratory hygiene are the most important tools in slowing the spread of COVID-19." Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here.

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