The Department has advised providers that aged care staff should only wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – including a gown, surgical mask, eye protection and gloves – when they are providing care to a resident with a suspected case of coronavirus who is waiting on test results, according to its latest advice.
The Department says the only other circumstance where staff should need to wear additional PPE when providing care to a close contact of a COVID-19 case who has since tested positive or has developed symptoms of COVID-19 and is waiting for their test results – so if the close contact is not showing symptoms, they don’t need to wear the extra PPE.
If there is a confirmed COVID-19 case in their facility, staff are also only required to wear additional PPE if they have been deemed a close contact i.e. spent more than 15 minutes face-to-face with a confirmed case or shared a closed space for more than two hours with a confirmed case.
Will staff agree with these measures, however?
The experience of aged care providers overseas and here so far is that staff are scared of passing on the infection to their families and friends – to the point that they have not come to work.
If you have any questions about the use of PPE or if you require PPE, email agedcarecovidppe@health.gov.au.
