Canberrans urged to be aware of the current lockdown rules

With Canberra’s lockdown extended, police are asking the community to ensure they are aware of the current lockdown rules.

Police have been generally pleased with Canberrans efforts to stick to the important health rules over the past five weeks however attendance at closed reserves on the weekend was concerning.

On Saturday approximately, 40 vehicles were located in closed reserves along the Cotter Road and Paddy’s River Road. In most cases – people had ignored clear signage indicating the closure. The people present were asked to move on by ACT Policing Rural Patrol officers and ACT Parks officers with 100 directions given to move on.

People are reminded many parks and reserves remain closed to the public including, Namadgi National Park (including the visitors centre), Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (including the visitors centre), Lower Cotter Catchment, Cotter precinct (including Cotter Campground and Blue Range), Kambah Pool, Uriarra Crossing, Woods Reserve Campground, Northern Borders Campground and Googong Foreshores.

In the past week, police conducted 3955 traffic checks to ensure the trips being made were permitted under the current lockdown arrangements. Officers also conducted more than 900 checks of people and businesses, and issued 11 infringements and 17 cautions for breaches of health directions.

Detective Superintendent Naomi Binstead urged people to keep up the good work and not become complacent as rules change.

“We know lockdown is hard and we are urging people not to become complacent or adopt an ‘it will be right’ attitude. We need to keep up all the good work everyone has put in so far so we can continue to keep positive cases in our community low,” said Detective Superintendent Binstead.

“It’s still not OK to have visitors to your home. It’s not ok to visit closed reserves. Trips should still only be taken for essential purposes. You must check-in and remember, with a few exceptions, masks must be worn whenever you leave home.

“We will be continuing our compliance activities and will not hesitate to issue infringements or arrest people who are in breach of health directions. Everyone has had more than enough time to be aware of the rules and to be able to stick to them.”

ACT Policing’s dedicated COVID-19 Taskforce will continue to build on its almost 5000 checks on individuals and businesses to ensure everyone is doing the right thing.

Lockdown compliance activity to 14 September 2021:

The most up-to-date COVID-19 information for the ACT can be found at the ACT COVID-19 website.

To make reports of non-compliance, you can complete a form via Access Canberra or contact the COVID-19 Helpline on 6207 7244 (8am-8pm, 7 days a week).

For police assistance call 131 444 and only contact Triple Zero (000) for emergencies.

Media enquiries

Police Media — (02) 5126 9070, act-police-media@afp.gov.au