What we are doing to protect you with our State borders re-opening
It is with mixed feelings that we welcome the news from the State Government regarding the relaxing of our State borders.
It is great more families will be able to connect with loved ones who live interstate, as safe, social connection is so important right now. And with Christmas and the extended holidays upon us, we expect there will be travel plans underway for many.
With news on the WA State border controls changing this weekend and the potential impact this may have on the spread of COVID-19, we wanted to reassure you of our vigilant efforts as we continue to protect and connect our customers, employees and volunteers.
Rest assured, we are:
- continuously monitoring the health, travel and hygiene standards of all Southcarers, as we have done so since we first deployed our COVID-19 management plan earlier this year. This occurs daily and our team will only present to work if they are deemed fit.
- only sending support workers to visit you or your loved ones if they meet these stringent standards.
- asking all employees and volunteers to abide by the State Government’s requirements regarding re-entry into WA.
- requiring all Southcarers to self-isolate if they are awaiting results of a COVID-19 test or been in contact with someone who is awaiting results.
- requiring all Southcarers to self-isolate if they are showing cold or flu-like symptoms or been in contact with someone showing these symptoms.
- recording details of visitors to our head office, Op Shop and emergency services and asking them to use hand sanitiser on arrival.
- continuing with our training on infection control, hand hygiene and Personal Protective Equipment and have completed courses regarding the management of a customer who presents with COVID-19.
- encouraging customers to use electronic or over-the-phone payments to minimise visits to our office.
- continuing with work-from-home arrangements where possible, using email, video and phone calls in lieu of face-to-face meetings and limiting the number of people together at any one time.
When we arrive for a scheduled home visit, we will be asking our customers before we enter their home:
- Are you or anyone in your home self-isolating?
- Are you or anyone in your home COVID-19 positive or waiting on a COVID-19 test result?
- Do you or anyone in your home have a cold, flu or fever or show symptoms of these?
- In the last week have you had visitors from interstate, or have you travelled outside of WA?
If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, we will not be able to enter your home at this time and will advise you of such. However, we will ensure essential services are delivered to you via support workers wearing Personal Protective Equipment.
We continue to treat COVID-19 as a priority to ensure our collective health and that is why we have zero confirmed cases. We encourage you to visit our COVID-19 resources hub which explains all the measures and quality controls we have in place.
Our door is still very much open, so please reach out if you have any questions.
Remember, we are all in this together.