Published 13th April 2021
Since 5pm AEST, 29 March 2021, all of Queensland has been declared a restricted area in response to COVID-19 community transmission within Greater Brisbane.
For all residential aged care facilities in Queensland, this includes:
Queensland aged care providers can find out more information and are encouraged to stay up to date via the QLD Health website.
Please note that these restrictions will not affect the rollout of vaccines to impacted facilities and teams will comply with Queensland government public health orders including wearing the required PPE to protect residents and staff while administering vaccines.
In response to the increased number of COVID-19 cases in Queensland, the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer has declared greater Brisbane region as a COVID-19 hotspot. Australian Government grant funding is now available to support aged care providers to implement single site arrangements. This supports the Queensland Government’s Aged Care Direction (No.25) which recommends that residential aged care providers limit their staff to working at one site.
The grant funding will be available for out of pocket costs incurred during an initial two week period, from 30 March 2021 to 13 April 2021. If the hotspot declaration is extended, these arrangements will also be extended.
A reminder that employers should ensure their workers are not financially disadvantaged during this period. Where this results in additional out of pocket costs for the provider, reimbursement can be sought through the grant application process. The Support for Aged Care Workers in COVID-19 (SACWIC) grant opportunity remains open until 30 June 2021.
At this stage, SACWIC funding is available to residential aged care providers in the following LGAs:
In addition to funding support, providers can also access guidance on practical implementation of single site arrangements, including employee relations expertise, through the Guiding Principles Support Hub website or hotline on 1800 491 793.
In response to COVID-19 in Brisbane, other States and Territories may have updated restrictions and Directions. Aged care providers are reminded to stay up to date with advice and Directions from their local government via the links below:
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.
Source:Unknown Author, 2021, Department of Health (https://www.health.gov.au/)
Reads 330 Downloads -
Back