Update on Covid 19 precautions:

Happy Friday. Please note starting Thursday midnight, 17 June 2021 Victorian Government further
relax Covidsafe measure in community setting.

However, ECH as of any other Residential aged care facility is classified as high-risk area, we continue
obeying the Government guidelines and specific visiting restrictions in aged cares. Please read in
conjunction with memo issued on 25 May 2021: “Care Facility Visitors Visitor restrictions” and 11 June
2021 “Further relax in the community’.

In short, no change in the restrictions at ECH except” Visits from prospective residents are not
permitted” changes to “Visit from a prospective resident is permitted with no more than one
person accompanying”.

Summary as follows:

End of life care visits
• Two visitors at a time
• Do not have to be from the same household.
• No time limits.
• No daily limit.

Specified purposes
• Provide essential care or support for the resident’s immediate physical or emotional
wellbeing, including support for people living with dementia. • Is the parent, carer or guardian of a person under the age of 18.
• As a nominated person (as defined in the Mental Health Act 2014) including support
for people living with dementia.
• As an interpreter or to provide language support.
• To learn to support the patient or resident’s care upon discharge.

Visitor restrictions for Specified Purposes visits
• Two visitors at one time
• Do not have to be from the same household
• No time limits.
• Specified purpose required.
• No more than two visitors per day, including dependents.
• Recommendation for remote / electronic visits
• Providing interpreter services or acting as a nominated person should be provided
remotely unless it is not practicable to do so.
• Other care and support should be provided remotely if reasonable and appropriate in
the circumstances (e.g., phone call support for someone with hearing difficulties
would not be appropriate).

Face mask requirements
• All need to scan Victorian QR code.
• All visitors are required to wear face masks.
• All workers are required to wear surgical masks.
• All workers are required to wear eye protection, face shields are preferred when
providing direct care for residents.

Other measures
• Enhanced screening and testing on admission or return to facility from leave.
Residents found to have visited listed exposure sites to be covid swab tested and
managed as at risk COVID (isolation at own bedroom) until negative results known.
• Enhanced focus on screening visitors and staff and continuing daily workforce
attestations.
• Restricting visitors and staff found to have visited exposure sites until they have
returned a negative test result.
• Tier 3 PPE – surgical mask and face shields for low risk suspected COVID-19 and
high-risk suspected COVID-19 and confirmed COVID residents needs N95 masks.

Where practicable, care facility workers should be limited to working at one site and
ECH is maintaining it until further notice.
• Student clinical placements permitted in all settings but restricted from providing
care/being exposed to high-risk COVID and confirmed COVID patients. Students
restricted to one site only.
• It is anticipated geographic locations and exposure sites will be updated in coming
days. Please monitor the?DH coronavirus website?for the latest information Case
alerts – public exposure sites | Coronavirus Victoria.

Kindly share this update with other family members who may wish to be kept
informed.