Dear Residents and Families/Representatives,

With the festive season upon us, I hope that you are well on your way to enjoying the festive season with family and friends.

During this season, it’s important that you are fully aware of the requirements that we have in place to keep residents and workers as safe as possible during the coronavirus pandemic.

New requirements when visiting a resident

The additional requirements when visiting our homes, during the festive season are that you:

• must show evidence of a negative COVID test that’s no more than 48hrs old, PLUS
• must have a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) performed onsite prior to entering our home, and

you should expect this to process to take up to 20 minutes.

The other existing requirements for visiting are also in place that you can read about further down.

What if you don’t have a negative test result to show us?

Speak with facility administrators and management to make other arrangements such as a window visit or an outdoor gated visit, by appointment.

Resident social outings

St Basil’s management will need to review your completed social outing form to conduct a risk assessment in consultation with the resident and/or their representative.

When leaving the facility, residents are required to adhere to public health orders as well as diligently follow COVID safe practices such as social distancing, mask wearing and good hand hygiene. Upon return, residents may be required to have a COVID PCR test performed and be prepared to isolate in their room until management receive the result.

Full details and the Resident Social Outing form can be found further down in this letter.

Below are all other requirements for visiting and outings during the festive season.

Residents are permitted to have two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over, plus two children aged under 12 years per day.

• Visitors aged 12 years and over must have received a second dose of a COVID vaccination at least 14 days prior to their visit
• Children under 12 years are permitted to visit provided they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated person
• Where visits include a child under 12 it is strongly recommended, where possible:
  • the visit is in an outdoor area
  • the child should wear a mask
  • the child should have Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) just before the visit
• Visits should not be in any inside communal areas. All visitors must wear a surgical mask while visiting indoors. For reasons when masks can be removed please see Additional Advice – Mandatory mask wearing.
• People who are providing a service to the resident (including a health or other professional service) are not counted in the number of visitors permitted.

The Minister has signed an exemption to the Public Health (COVID-19 Care Services) Order 2021 to allow more than 2 visitors per day for the purposes of visiting a resident who is at the end of life.

• The exemption is subject to the condition that the operator of the facility takes reasonable steps to ensure:
  • no more than 4 people (including children) visit at any one time
  • all visitors 12 years and over wear a mask while in an indoor area, unless the visitor is interacting with the resident they are visiting
  • there is minimal interaction between the visitors and the staff and other residents
• The visitors in this circumstance do not need to be vaccinated, however appropriate care must be taken if unvaccinated visitors are entering the facility. It is strongly recommended:
  • the visit is solely inside the resident’s room and
  • where possible, the visitors have Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) just before the visit.

Visitors must not enter an RACF at all if they:

• have COVID-19 symptoms
• are a close or casual contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 unless they have completed their self-isolation and testing requirements.
• are waiting for a COVID-19 test result.
• have been to an overseas country of concern in the last 14 days
• have been to other overseas countries (not of concern) in the previous 14 days, unless they are:
  • fully vaccinated and have received a negative COVID PCR test 7 days or later after arrival in NSW

Resident outings

Residents are permitted to leave the facility and attend family gatherings or for other reasons but must abide by the current Public Health (COVID-19 General) Order 2021.

Facilities must ensure that residents are provided with appropriate personal protective equipment, infection control and mask wearing advice if they leave the facility. See the latest face mask rules.

If a person cannot wear a face mask because of a disability, physical or mental health illness or condition, they must carry either:

• a medical certificate or letter signed by a registered health practitioner (such as a doctor) or a registered NDIS provider or
• a statutory declaration.

Please read Additional Advice – Residents attending family gatherings or excursions.

Before going on an outing, the Resident Outing Risk Assessment Form must be completed by the resident or the responsible person taking the consumer on the outing.  Social outing may take place provided that it’s done in a COVID safe manner and you provide St Basil’s management with at least 24 hours’ notice. You must have evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result (from the within the last 48 hours of your visit) before taking your loved one on an outing.

Do you have questions?

If you have any queries or concerns, please reach out to your facility General Manager or Administrators who will be happy to guide you through the process over the festive season.

Thank you for your support during a year which has had its challenges, but we are proud that together we have created a better home and experiences for your loved one. We look forward to a great year ahead in 2022. I hope that the festive season is a joyous one and filled with creating wonderful memories with family and friends.

Με εκτίμηση,

Σπύρος Στάβης
Chief Executive Officer