Please see below a summary of the guidelines as it applies to the residential aged care sector.
In a residential aged care setting, where a critical worker has been exposed to a COVID-positive case in a ‘workplace setting’ by:
- not wearing full PPE (fit-tested N95/P2 mask, eye wear, gown, and gloves) when being exposed where aerosol generating behaviours or procedures have been involved; or
- being exposed to 15 minutes+ face-to-face contact where both mask and eyewear were not worn by worker, and the COVID positive case was without a mask; or
- being exposed for two hours or more in a small room with a COVID positive case during their infectious period, where masks have been removed for this period;
depending on “impact level to services”, the critical worker should:
| Low impact on services | High impact on services |
| · Immediate quarantine for 7 days | · Immediately quarantine and take a RAT. If positive isolate for 7 days. If negative and asymptomatic: |
| · Return to work after 7 days if day 6 test is negative and asymptomatic | |
| · If symptoms develop, perform RAT | o Continue to work with negative day 1 RAT |
| · If symptoms continue at day 7, continue to quarantine until asymptomatic, regardless, if RAT is negative | o Perform RAT every working day (prior to starting workday), up to day 7 |
| · Continue to monitor for symptoms for a further 7 days | o Monitor for symptoms and immediate isolate if symptoms develop |
| · Apply additional requirements on return to work as per ‘High impact on services’ | o Abide by additional requirements (see below) |
Additional requirements to continue working in high impact circumstances
Where furloughing critical workers will have a “high impact on services”, workers must abide by additional requirements. Workers must:
- work in fit-tested N95/P2 respirator for the first 7 days following exposure
- only work at a single site/area,
- must not share break areas (service provider must provide adequate break areas)
- continue to quarantine when not working until cleared or show a negative RAT at day 7
- travel to work via own their transport or individual rideshare following a negative RAT.
