Australia's capital Canberra was ordered into a seven-day lockdown Thursday, after a single COVID-19 case was detected in the city that has largely avoided virus restrictions.

"This is the most serious public health risk that we have faced in the territory this year, and really since the beginning of the pandemic," Australian Capital Territory chief minister Andrew Barr said. 

Canberra has not been in lockdown since a nationwide shutdown in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.