Wednesday, 30 June 2021
Hi everyone,
New cases
Five of today’s COVID-19 cases (delta variant) are linked to the Northern Territory’s Tanami mine. A man and woman in their 30s and three of their children have tested positive. Luckily, the miner and his family had been self-quarantining and doing all the right things, so the risk to the community remains relatively low. All have been transported to Tom’s court the dedicated COVID-19 medi-hotel for treatment and management. The remaining cases are international arrivals.
SA restrictions update
As a result of these positive cases, a range of new restrictions on activities and gatherings has been announced which are expected to come into effect later today. More information will be available at covid-19.sa.gov.au once the direction is finalised.
This is a good reminder for anyone showing even the mildest of symptoms to get tested immediately. To find your closest testing clinic click here.
Updated hotspots
To check if you have visited any locations of concern visit the SA Health website. We expect that this will be updated regularly over the next few days as contract tracing continues and you are encouraged to look at it regularly and keep yourself up-to-date.
If any staff have been to the listed hotspot areas during the specified timeframes irrespective of their vaccination status, they should:
- get a COVID-19 test as soon as possible and self-isolate until they receive a negative result
- complete the self-isolation form
- contact the Clinical Worker Health Service (contact details are below) for further advice and a risk assessment before returning to work.
Clinical Worker Health Unit
Royal Adelaide Hospital, telephone 7117 2306
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, telephone 8222 7642
Afterhours: 0438 976 481
Wearing a mask
A reminder following the announcement earlier this week about mandatory wearing of masks in our health facilities and to refer to the mask FAQ if your have any questions regarding the mandatory wearing of masks on healthcare sites.
The State Government is now also strongly recommending wearing of masks in public places, particularly where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
As healthcare workers we need to ensure that we do the right thing and are modelling the appropriate behaviours for the rest of the community.
If you require further mask supplies, you can order through the standard oracle ordering process (Oracle code 19047012 – Level 1 for administration use and Oracle code 19047308 – Level 3 for clinical use) but please be reminded we have plenty of supply so no need to stock pile!
Working from home
As recommended by the Premier this morning, we strongly encourage any non-essential staff to work from home during this period if they are unable to physically distance.
We do understand that in some cases essential staff are unable to physically distance within the workplace, however we ask that you utilise common sense and manage scenarios on a case-by-case basis. Please speak to your manager or supervisor to negotiate this and if you have any questions.
If you are working from home, please ensure you complete a working from home form as soon as possible (even if you have previously completed one).
How to stay informed
We would also like to remind you that information is evolving rapidly and while we do our best to communicate with you on the important issues as they occur, you can also find detailed information and updates below.
- COVID-19 Information for SA
- COVID-19 SA Emergency Declaration and Directions
- COVID-19 testing clinics
- Book your COVID-19 vaccination
- CALHN COVID-19 Information for staff
- CALHN workforce Facebook group
The CALHN COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) will be meeting again this afternoon to continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates should the situation change. Our goal remains - as always - to deliver safe and appropriate care to our patients and provide support to the wider system to do the same.
We encourage all staff to use common sense, get tested if you are unwell and vaccinated if you haven't already done so. It’s important that we continue to lead by example by maintaining physical distancing, using COVID Safe Check-ins and practising good hand hygiene to do all we can to ensure that we keep our patients, visitors and staff safe.
Rachael Kay
CALHN COVID-19 Commander