Community sports – including contact sport, dancing and martial arts – have been given the go-ahead from midday today (17 July), one week after the ACT postponed moving to Stage 3 eased restrictions due to COVID-19 outbreaks in Victoria.
Outdoor sporting fields can be used by up to 100 people, keeping in line with the one person per four square metre rule, and sports organisations will need a COVID-safe plan in place to open communal facilities like change rooms and canteens.
Social distancing and hygiene measures also need to be maintained while facilities should be cleaned before and after use, equipment sharing minimised, and players and fans are urged to leave playing fields as soon as possible, Sports Minister Yvette Berry said.
Competition and squad swimming can also recommence, while the limit of people in swimming lanes will be removed.
In more welcome news for swimmers, Minister Berry flagged that the Stromlo Swimming Pool will open on 15 August.
For league fans, the Raiders will still be limited to a crowd of 1,500 at their next home game until the ACT Chief Health Officer completes her final checkpoint to move to Stage 3 next Thursday (23 July), which would then be effective the following day.
Meanwhile, a new health direction in the ACT will legally require anyone who has been to COVID-19 hotspots identified by NSW Health to self-quarantine for 14-days from the date they were last there, even if they do not have symptoms.
As of midday yesterday (16 July), these locations include three Sydney pubs:
- Crossroads Hotel in Casula – between Friday 3 July to Friday 10 July
- Planet Fitness in Casula – between Saturday 4 July and Friday 10 July
- Picton Hotel in Picton – on Saturday 4 July, Sunday 5 July, Thursday 9 July or Friday 10 July.
ACT residents are also being encouraged not to travel to Liverpool and Campbelltown in Sydney’s west due to clusters of COVID-19, even though there is no evidence of community transmission at the moment, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.
For further information on restrictions and the pandemic response in the ACT, visit www.covid19.act.gov.au.
You can also stay up to date on the situation in NSW at the NSW Health website.
Original Article published by Dominic Giannini on The RiotACT.