Updates have been made to South Australia’s Residential Aged Care Facilities COVID-19 Direction.
The existing Emergency Management Direction has been revoked and replaced by a new direction, which came into effect at midnight last night.
The new Direction provides an update to changes in restrictions for people visiting and working at Aged Care Facilities.
Under the new arrangements, care and support visits to aged care home are no longer restricted to one person or two persons together.
There is no longer a restriction on the number of care and support visits a resident can have.
There are, however, still some restrictions on aged care workers.
“A personal care worker whose primary role is to support residents with their daily care needs should, to the extent reasonably possible should not provide care to a resident at another Residential Aged Care Facility,” the Direction states.
“However should they provide care at more than facility the facility must notify the Facility Operator that they are doing so, with the Facility being required to keep a register of those workers who do provide care at more than one facility.”
The Direction also states that Residential Aged Care Facility operators must ensure that all care workers regularly undergo COVID-19 testing and wear appropriate personal protective equipment until their test results are known.
“It is acknowledged that many restrictions still apply, but they are critical in dealing with the spread of COVID-19,” said SA Police in announcing the new Direction.
All existing directions, frequently asked questions and other information can be found here: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations.
For further information please call the SA COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787 between the hours of 9am to 5pm 7 days per week or go to the SA Health website at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au or www.sa.gov.au/covid-19
