Aged Care & COVID-19

To enter an aged care facility, you must have:

• Received two doses of a TGA approved or recognised COVID-19 vaccination; and
• The South Australian Government now requires all eligible visitors to have received their COVID-Booster shot to enter residential aged care facilities. If you are not yet eligible for the booster shot, evidence of a booster shot booking within four weeks of your eligibility date is needed.
• Provide the operator of the RACF with proof of their vaccination status upon request.

Exemptions are limited to the below circumstances:

• Provision of a medical certificate or a letter from a legally qualified medical practitioner certifying that the person:
  • has a medical exemption from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine on either a permanent or temporary basis in accordance with guidelines published by ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation),
  • has a medical exemption on either a permanent or temporary basis from receiving the preferred vaccine as recommended by ATAGI for the person’s age,
  • has an appointment to be assessed by a medical specialist or has started an assessment to determine if they have a medical exemption,
  • has a certificate or letter specifying the nature of the exemption and the basis on which it applies,
  • the Chief Public Health Officer or her delegate has endorsed the exemption, and,
  • provides our aged care site with a copy of the endorsement.
• The person is entering for an end-of-life visit and is not able to access the COVID-19 vaccine before visiting the Residential Aged Care facility. They must also wear appropriate personal protective equipment while on the premises of the Residential Aged Care Facility.
• The person is responding in the provision of emergency services in the event of an emergency.

Visitor Screening

AnglicareSA residential aged care homes display the State Government’s COVID Safe Check-In QR code and a paper contact tracing record at the point of entry.

All visitors to any residential aged care facility must provide proof of their vaccination status upon request.

All visitors are to undergo the AnglicareSA screening process before entry into residential aged care homes.

Each visitor must sign in and out using the AnglicareSA kiosk individually for each visit for contact tracing purposes, undergo a travel and clinical screen and provide evidence of vaccination status.

Please allow more time when visiting to undergo the screening process which a staff member will be able to undertake with you. The outcome of the screening will determine if entry to the home is permitted.

We continue to monitor the latest South Australian Government directives on visiting and activities at RAC sites. Please contact the RAC site directly or the Customer Service Centre on 1800 317 009 for the latest updates on visitation at our facilities.

Mask wearing

• A person (other than a resident or a child under 12 years) must not enter or remain on the premises of a residential aged care home, unless the person is wearing a face mask (covering mouth and nose) at all times.
• We will provide you with a surgical mask upon entry and ask that you wear the mask for the duration of your visit.

The requirement for a mask does not apply when:

• A person is eating or drinking
• The wearing of a mask will hinder the provision of the relevant care and/or impact resident safety or wellbeing
• A person has a relevant medical condition, including problems with their breathing, a serious condition of the face, a disability or a mental health condition
• The ability to see the mouth is essential for communication, such as to enable communication by or with any person who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Prohibited visitors

A new direction, The current  Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 46) Direction 2022 came into effect on 29 January 2022 and revokes the Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 44) Direction 2021.

You cannot enter an aged care facility if:

• You have had contact with a positive COVID-19 person within 14 days prior to entry
• You have a temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius, history of fever or chills within the preceding 72hours, or have symptoms of acute respiratory infection or loss of taste or smell
• You have not received the 2021 influenza vaccination
• You have undertaken a COVID-19 test and are awaiting the test result, unless part of routine surveillance testing and are not displaying symptoms.

We will continue to advise residents and visitors about the latest SA government directives on visiting and activities at residential aged care sites. We continue to monitor and review arrangements as information becomes available.