Every Canberran who worked as part of the Territory’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic last year has been jointly named as the 2021 Canberra Citizen of the Year.
Chief Minister, Andrew Barr said the honour recognised the contribution of hundreds of Canberrans who carried out the public health response.
“Throughout 2020, these Canberrans have undertaken our COVID-19 testing, tracing and quarantine,” Mr Barr said.
“They have cared for patients, established and run multiple testing sites to conduct over 100,000 COVID-19 tests; managed 15,000 exemption requests, supported COVID-19 compliance and kept our community well informed throughout the pandemic,” he said.
“This work is continuing with the roll out of our vaccination program.”
Mr Barr congratulated the citizens on their achievement, and thanked them for their continued contribution to keeping the community safe and informed during the pandemic.
“It’s thanks to their hard work that the ACT is in a strong position to keep our economy running and our community healthy,” the Chief Minister said.
“From teams of people on the frontline to the people working in the background, the Canberra Citizen of the Year Award could not go to more deserving citizens,” he said.
Previous Canberra Citizens of the Year include the ACT Emergency Services Agency and ACT Parks and Conservation (2020); the University of Canberra Capitals and their supporters (2019); and disability advocate, Sue Salthouse (2015).
