QUEENSLAND'S chief health officer Jeanette Young has toughened restrictions on visiting Queensland aged care homes, including Redlands, Logan and Beaudesert.
Dr Young invoked emergency powers to cut visits in the wake of the public health emergency after three teenagers from Logan visited Melbourne and Sydney, and did not reveal details of their movements when returning to Queensland.
In a statement, Dr Young said the public health emergency area was for all of Queensland up to August 17 but might be extended.
Redlands, Logan and Beaudesert have a swathe of aged care homes, including 27 in the bayside area alone.
It applies to residential aged care facilities and prevents people visiting without lawful reason if they have been in a declared COVID-19 hot spot, have travelled from overseas, been in contact with someone who has the virus, has not been vaccinated for the flu or has a temperature equal to or higher than 37.5 degrees.
The idea is to manage contact between residents and non-residents after alarming rates of aged care home infections occurred in Victoria.
All approved visitors must wear face masks and no residents must leave without approval.
The main changes are for all residential aged care facilities to have a management plan in place under which it is mandatory for all staff to advise employers if they have another job and if a COVID-19 case has been found at their other workplace.
"Due to recently announced cases in Queensland extra restrictions have now been put in place for residential aged care facilities in Metro South and neighbouring suburbs in the West Moreton region," the statement says.
Restrictions include:
- Visitors
- No personal visitors, including care and support visitors are allowed to enter
- Only persons providing an essential purpose will be allowed to enter
- End of life visits will still be allowed
- Anyone entering a facility must wear a single use surgical face mask
- No personal visitors, including care and support visitors are allowed to enter
- Only persons providing an essential purpose will be allowed to enter
- End of life visits will still be allowed
- Anyone entering a facility must wear a single use surgical face mask
- Residents
- Cannot leave the residential aged care facility unless they are receiving health care, attending a funeral or for an emergency or for compassionate reasons
- The residential aged care facility or the Chief Health Officer can provide an exemption for leave on compassionate reasons
- Cannot leave the residential aged care facility unless they are receiving health care, attending a funeral or for an emergency or for compassionate reasons
- The residential aged care facility or the Chief Health Officer can provide an exemption for leave on compassionate reasons
- Staff
- Residential aged care facility operators must make sure staff do not work across multiple facilities as much as possible
- Residential aged care facility operators must make sure staff do not work across multiple facilities as much as possible
- Anyone providing medical care (including staff, volunteers or family members) must wear appropriate PPE as outlined in the