16 new Covid cases reported on Thursday during Canberra lockdown

Cases have also been recorded in Goulburn and Queanbeyan in southern NSW.

NSW deputy Premier John Barilaro cited the cases in southern NSW as one of the reasons the regional lockdown would be extended.

There are now 83 cases active in the Canberra community.

Five of the new cases are under investigation.

The list of exposure sites has continued to balloon overnight, with a childcare centre, general practice and numerous public transport routes now identified as close contact sites.

Young people are being hugely affected by the outbreak, with the median age of those infected 19.5 years.

IN OTHER NEWS:

ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said on Wednesday that the youngest person infected was a three-year-old.

Several schools have been implicated in the outbreak including Lyneham High School, Gold Creek School and Lake Ginninderra College.

Goodstart Early Learning in Turner has also been listed as a close-contact exposure site.

We have removed our paywall from our stories which contain need-to-know information about coronavirus. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.