COVID coordinator, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens (pictured above), has issued a new direction for aged care providers to follow as authorities continue to trace the COVID cluster that saw the state shut down last week.
Under the Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 14) (COVID-19) Direction 2020 – which came into effect at 6.25pm Saturday 21 November – a prescribed authorised officer can declare a prescribed self-quarantine period in relation to an outbreak at a particular aged care home if a single case of COVID-19 is confirmed in a resident, staff member or frequent attendee of that facility.
Once the facility is found to have a confirmed COVID-19 case, a resident must not leave the premises unless for urgent medical or dental treatment, transfer to hospital, to another aged care facility with prior approval or in order to self-quarantine at another location with prior approval.
If a resident leaves the facility to quarantine at another location, they must remain quarantined and segregated from other people unless seeking care. A person who has close contact with the resident must also remain at the approved location and also quarantined and segregated from other people.
You can find the full directions here.
