Select Page

Home > News > Covid-19 Precautions

Covid-19 Precautions

Information about the Covid-19 is unfolding rapidly, the approach taken by various government agencies continues to evolve.

Employee Engagement during the Coronavirus

Quarantine Measures

Information about the Coronavirus is unfolding rapidly, the approach taken by various government agencies continues to evolve, be assured we are closely monitoring advice from the Department of Health and will revise our action plan for the workplace to reflect any changes provided by the Department of Health.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a worker or someone who is responsible for workers, everyone must be vigilant, and everyone is responsible for the management of health and safety risks, and this includes exposure to the (COVID-19) Coronavirus. Employees are instructed to comply with the following action plan taken to safeguard our working community, whilst minimising the impact on the workplace and its workers, associates and wider network of those with whom we come into contact.

  1. If you have travelled (regardless whether it was any part of China, including Hong Kong, Italy or Iran) recently, or you are intending to travel, we may ask that you remain home for 14 days from the date of return to Australia. This position will be monitored to reflect unfolding events and information updates as they come to hand.
  2. If you suspect you have come into close contact with someone who may be infected, immediately contact your health professional, and notify your manager. Remain at home until you have been cleared, providing your manager with a clearance to return to work medical certificate. 3. If you have had close contact* with a confirmed case of the coronavirus, you should remain at home for 14 days since your last contact with the confirmed case and immediately notify your manager and provide a clearance to return to work medical certificate.
  3. Close contact is defined as living in the same household, 15 minutes face-to-face contact with a person with confirmed coronavirus in any setting or sharing a closed space with a person with confirmed coronavirus for more than two hours. NSW Health has processes in place to identify any close contacts of cases confirmed in New South Wales.
  4. People at increased risk of serious illness include the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, heart and lung disease) or a weakened immune system, if you are a worker that falls in this category, notify your manager immediately.
  5. Consistent with current guidelines, employees unwell with respiratory illness should remain at home until symptoms resolve. If you are at all concerned about your health or that of your family members, please contact your health professional and discuss this concern with your manager.

Under the relevant WHS laws, workers are required to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of persons who may be affected by that person’s acts or omissions, and to co-operate with their employer with respect to any action taken by the employer to comply with a requirement imposed by or under the WHS Act.

We would like to thank you in advance for your co-operation and responsiveness to the quarantine measures detailed in this Health Alert, designed to protect, and minimise the risk of harm to our workers.

Our priority remains constant, and that is the health and welfare of our workers.

Self-Isolation

Self-Isolation Protocol means not going to work, not going to the shops, not going to the park, beach or the movies.

Self-isolation is about minimising close or physical contact with a non-infected person. An ideal case of self-isolation is one where the person is not in the same room with anybody else at any time.

If you need food or other essentials, you should ask family and friends to bring it, or have it delivered. Regardless of who is bringing you supplies; they should be left on the doorstep to prevent transmission. It is wise to advise them that you are in self- isolation. To reinforce previously communicated details about having travelled to mainland China, Iran or South Korea in the last 14 days, you MUST self-isolate. The 14 days should begin from the day you left that country.

NSW Health also recommends monitoring your symptoms if you have been in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Thailand or Singapore.

Even if you develop a mild cough or low- grade fever (i.e. a temperature of 37.3 C or more) you must stay at home and self-isolate. Contact your healthcare provider or the local public health department, providing details of your recent travel or contact with someone that has returned from recent travel and your symptoms. Immediately notify your manager and provide a list of persons with whom you have had contact 14 days prior, in either of following instances; when you have developed any COVID-19 like symptoms, or you have come into close contact with someone that may be infected because, they have been in close contact with a confirmed case. Remain in self-isolation until you have received medical clearance that you are not infected.

Everyone should practice sensible “social distancing” staying away from crowds and trying to keep a 1.5m distance away from others. It’s also advisable to avoid small gatherings in enclosed spaces and not to visit vulnerable people, i.e. those in aged care facilities and hospitals. If you have had close contact with a person diagnosed with coronavirus, or a person that has had close contact with a diagnosed case of COVID-19, you must self-isolate. If a family member has come into close contact with a person diagnosed with the virus you must self-isolate.

Living with someone in self-isolation

  • Self-isolation gets much more complicated if you are living in the same household.
  • People in self-isolation are urged to stay in their rooms and to avoid being in the same space as their family members or housemates.
  • It is best to eat meals in your room, and to clean surfaces of your bathroom and kitchen every time you use it.
  • Towels, toiletries and other household items should not be shared, and the usual recommendations about handwashing are especially important.
  • NSW Health recommends using a face mask whenever you are in the same room as someone else, and to avoid shared or communal spaces.
  • “High-touch” surfaces like doorknobs, counters, tabletops, bathroom fixtures, phones, keyboards and tablets should be cleaned at least once a day with disposable gloves.