Protecting Older Australians - COVID-19 Update 8 July 2021

Published 15th July 2021

NSW Extension of hotspot – Greater Sydney

The Australian Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, has extended the Greater Sydney region COVID-19 hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support to 16 July 2021 for Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Shellharbour and Wollongong.

Declaring a hotspot for Commonwealth support triggers the following actions, if required, including:

• access to PPE from the National Medical Stockpile for eligible aged care services
• actions for aged care facilities including PPE, single site workforce supplement and integration of an aged care response centre into the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre
• assistance with contact tracing
• asymptomatic testing via General Practice Respiratory Clinics
• reprioritisation of vaccine supplies, if required
• access to COVID Disaster Payment, if eligibility criteria is met, including the state imposed lockdown runs for greater than 7 days.

Please note, single site workforce arrangements and activation of the Support for Aged Care Workers in COVID-19 remain in place until 24 July.

WA Health – further information on restrictions for RACF visitors

The WA Government announced that from 12.01am Tuesday 6 July 2021, WA Perth and Peel regions will return to transitional restrictions which mean residents are allowed up to four ‘care and support’ visitors per day. Masks are still required in all indoor environments.

For the full details of the Perth and Peel restrictions and the full list of exceptions to visitor restrictions for RACFs please see the Visitors to Residential Aged Care Facilities (Outbreak Restrictions (Transitional)) Directions on the WA Health website.

Free Webinar: The Loss and Grief experienced by aged care staff in the wake of COVID-19

The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (ACGB) has been funded to provide national grief and loss support for those living and working in aged care, and for the loved ones of aged care recipients; who have been impacted by COVID-19. This is part of the Aged Care COVID-19 grief and trauma response package.

ACGB are hosting the first in a series of 4 webinars designed to provide grief and loss support to those in and around the aged care sector.

Webinar Overview:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the aged care sector in Australia. Aged Care staff have experienced extraordinary levels of uncertainty and distress. This has generated an extra dimension to the grief & loss which already has been so prominent within the aged care sector.

What will the webinar cover:
The webinar will explore the impact that COVID-19 has had on residential aged care staff. The webinar will reflect on this situation, identify the major issues of concern and offer practical strategies aimed at assisting staff so that they can work safely and productively within the aged care sector.

Who should attend?

• All staff working in the aged care sector including those working in residential aged care or providing home care for older persons.
• People working in management or organisational leadership within the RACF sector.
• Anyone interested in providing support with grief and bereavement issues within the aged care residential settings.

Details
When: Thursday 15 July 2021
Time: 2:00 - 3:00pm AEST
Where: Online - Register to attend (free)

The webinar will be recorded and will be available for viewing afterwards on the ACGB aged care grief and bereavement support website. To contact ACGB email .

For more information about the aged care COVID-19 grief and trauma response package, or for questions email  or visit the program page for more information, brochures, posters, translated resources and social media content to raise awareness of the services.

Source:
Unknown Author, 2021, Department of Health (https://www.health.gov.au/)