Further to the updated guidance released in yesterday’s edition of the Protecting Older Australians newsletter, the following resources have been updated to further support the aged care sector.
Providers are encouraged to read these resources and familiarise themselves with the key changes as outlined below. Please also share these resources with your colleagues and networks.
Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) COVID-19 Outbreaks in Residential Care Facilities
The updated guidelines reflect the impact of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, widespread community transmission in most jurisdictions and outbreaks in many residential aged care facilities (RACFs).
This guidance supports RACFs to take a more independent and proportionate approach in managing the risk of COVID-19. This includes balancing residents’ wellbeing, and recognising the detrimental effects of social isolation and inactivity.
Changes include:
- move to risk-based approach
- included exposure definition
- changes to outbreak definition
- changes to visitation
- changes to declaring outbreak over
- changes to approach to test, trace, isolation and quarantine.
First 24 hours checklist
The checklist includes updated information from the previous First 24 hours fact sheet, aligning with the updated CDNA Guidelines and simplified into an easy to use and practical checklist format.
The changes assist providers and their staff to quickly identify critical steps to manage a COVID-19 positive case or outbreak during the first 24 hours.