Lockdown extended in Australian capital

Canberra, Aug 16 The Australian Capital Territory (ACT)'s coronavirus lockdown was extended on Monday after reporting a record-high number of new confirmed cases.

The ACT on Monday recorded 19 new cases, more than any other day in the latest outbreak, reports Xinhua news agency.

It takes the number of active cases in Canberra to 28.

The new cases included a student who attended classes for four days while infectious and a partially-vaccinated aged care worker who was infectious for three shifts, marking the first time the virus has been detected in an aged care home in Australia's capital.

There are more than 6,500 Canberra residents identified as close contacts, which is about 1.6 per cent of the territory's population.

Chief Minister of the ACT Andrew Barr announced that the territory's lockdown, which was due to end on Thursday, has been extended by two more weeks until September 2.

"As today's figures demonstrate, the virus is active in our community," he said.

"We do not want to see the numbers continue to grow and we do not want to see the exponential growth."

As of Monday, there has been 39,096 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia with 958 deaths, according to the figures from the Department of Health.

More than 5,000 coronavirus tests were conducted across the ACT on Sunday.

Kerryn Coleman, the Chief Health Officer at ACT Health, said all residents and staff at the aged care facility where the infected person worked would be tested on Monday.

"We are working very, very close with the (facility) to contain this outbreak. Our priority is to minimise the risk of transmission and protect the residents and staff."

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