Australian Capital Territory
On 17 May 2021, the ACT Chief Health Officer updated ACT COVID-19 advice. Key updates include:
- The Perth and Peel region local government areas (LGAs) are no longer considered geographical areas of risk in Australia.
- The geographical areas of risk still includes Greater Sydney LGAs, including Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong (from 26 April 2021) and Greater Melbourne LGAs (from 5 May 2021).
Visitors are restricted from entering an aged care facility if they have been in a geographical area of risk in the last 14 days. ACT aged care providers can find out more information on the ACT Government website.
New South Wales
On 17 May 2021, the screening advice for residential aged and home care services has been updated. Key updates include:
- The additional measures for mask wearing, visitor numbers and visiting outdoors in residential care facilities in Greater Sydney have been removed.
- There has been no further local transmission of COVID-19 in NSW however there are still current close and casual contact locations.
- COVID-19 vaccinations for staff, visitors and residents of residential aged care facilities should be prioritised.
Visitors must not enter an aged care facility if they have been to any close or casual contact locations in NSW or Interstate places of high concern. NSW aged care providers can find out more information on the NSW Health website.
State and territory aged care COVID-19 information
As the COVID-19 situation can change rapidly, aged care providers are reminded to stay up to date on visitor restrictions, PPE requirements and other measures relating to COVID-19 in aged care, from their relevant state or territory website below:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
PPE
Aged care providers are asked to ensure they have a sufficient supply of PPE, to use their own supply of PPE first and to request extra supply as and when needed. If you urgently need PPE and cannot source it, please submit an online application. The application will need to be completed for your request to be considered. The Commonwealth is prioritising requests for PPE from the National Medical Stockpile to aged care services that are most in need.
Further information and advice
Please visit the Australian Government Department of Health website for information and resources to assist in preparing and managing a COVID-19 outbreak, including what to do in the first 24 hours of an outbreak in a residential aged care facility.