21 July 2021

The ACT Government will implement stay-at-home requirements for anyone who leaves the Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council or Cabonne Shire Council local government areas (LGAs) after 11.59pm tonight (Wednesday 21 July 2021) and enters the ACT.

These requirements will remain in place until at least 11.59pm Tuesday 27 July 2021.

Non-ACT residents who have been in one of these three LGAs after 11.59pm 21 July 2021 must not travel to the ACT without an approved exemption. Exemptions will only be granted for extraordinary circumstances, and even if an exemption is approved, you will still be required to follow the stay-at-home order in the ACT.

ACT residents must complete an online declaration form within 24 hours of the commencement of the travel restrictions.

Additionally, anyone who has been in these LGAs on or after 14 July 2021 and who left prior to 11.59pm today is required to declare using ACT Health’s online declaration form. This is to ensure we are able to contact people who have been in these areas if the situation evolves further.

The exemption and declaration forms will be available on the ACT COVID-19 website from 6pm today.

For further information on the stay-at-home requirements, visit the ACT COVID-19 website.

Reconsider travel outside the ACT region

The situation in regional NSW is changing quickly. With cases and exposure locations now occurring in regional locations outside Greater Sydney, restrictions could be implemented for other regions at short notice.

All Canberrans should minimise interstate travel at this time and be prepared to reconsider their plans at short notice. Canberrans should not be travelling to any areas subject to quarantine or stay at home requirements.

With the NSW situation escalating, we have seen COVID-19 transmission occur in the Blayney Shire Council LGA and additional exposure sites listed in the past 24 hours in Orange and Goulburn.

If you attended any close or casual contact locations at the times listed, you must follow the advice provided by NSW Health and contact ACT Health on 02 5124 6500.

Anyone who has recently travelled outside of the ACT, must also check the ACT COVID-19 website regularly and follow the health advice if you have been in any of the exposure locations. In addition to the serious situations in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, there have also been exposure sites recorded in the past 14 days in Queensland.

ACT Health is continuing to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation in other jurisdictions and will put in place further directions if required in order to keep Canberra safe.