ACT public servants may be ordered to work from home if the Territory experiences a COVID-19 outbreak according to the Chief Minister, Andrew Barr.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, (10 March), Mr Barr said flexible working arrangements might need to be adopted by the ACT PS to ensure continuity of Government services.
He joined ACT Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman to say that while there were currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ACT, that was likely to change.
“Currently we have 306 tests conducted in the ACT and all have been negative,” Dr Coleman said.
“We can expect a case at some point in time and that is why we are continuing to prepare across the health sector and with our partners in the community.”
Mr Barr said that should the ACT begin to experience community transmission of COVID-19, he did not rule out enacting work from home arrangements for public servants.
“Not at this stage but it would be something that we would consider,” he said.
“And we’ve got capability obviously within the ACT Government to allow for very flexible working arrangements.”
He said that while it was a “multi-dimensional issue” it was principally a public health requirement to ensure the safety of staff.
“There are flow on implications for the day to day delivery of Government services, for the operation of workplaces outside the Public Service and of course the economy more broadly,” Mr Barr said.
He said a COVID-19 summit meeting of the nation’s GP groups this Friday (13 March) would address the issue of coordinating a nationwide response to such workplace issues.
Meanwhile, Dr Coleman urged Canberrans to keep themselves informed about the current advice in relation to COVID-19 and to seek medical assistance if they had concerns.
