Date published:
Type:
Subscriber announcement
Audience:
Health sector
Enhanced measures are now in place for the restriction of visitors and for the screening and testing of residents from nominated geographic areas and identified exposure sites.
This includes:
- Enhanced screening and testing on admission or return to facility from leave residents having lived in, or visited, Mentone, Mitcham or Hallam OR found to have visited listed exposure sites to be tested and managed as at risk COVID until results known.
- Enhanced attestations and testing of staff living in Mentone, Mitcham or Hallam.
- Those found to have visited exposure sites have access to testing.
- Enhanced measures for workforce mobility. In addition to existing measures, where practicable, staff cohorting within facilities to be implemented.
- All staff to wear surgical masks AND eye protection and all times.
- Tier 3 PPE (including N95 masks) for symptomatic or suspected COVID residents.
Additional visitor restrictions will now be in place for residential aged care facilities:
- Access to 1 visitor at any time, once per day for a maximum of 2 hours.
- Essential care persons: 1 visitor, no time limits apply
- Essential behaviour assistance person: no time limits apply
- Interpreters or informal language support: no time limits apply
- Visitor is being assisted to handover care for discharge: maximum of 2 hours
- Visitor is viewing facility as a potential site to live in: maximum of 2 hours
- End of live: 2 visitors, no time limit.
Residential aged care services may be contacted by Melbourne Pathology (Sonic) offering free, onsite asymptomatic testing. Staff are encouraged to access asymptomatic testing where available to help stop the spread.
It is anticipated geographic locations and exposure sites will be updated in coming days. Please monitor the DHHS coronavirus website for the latest information.