COVID-19 Update: 21 December 2021

With South Australia borders now open to fully vaccinated people, we would like to update you on Orana’s ongoing response and extra precautions taken to COVID-19 as the health and wellbeing of our clients and staff remain our highest priority. As you would all be aware, South Australia is now experiencing active community transmission of COVID-19 and its variants, with an increasing number of people in isolation.

In line with advice from SA Health, Orana has carefully considered all available information and has decided to implement the following measures in the best interests of our clients and staff:

Visitor screening for Business Services and Administration sites

• From 1 December 2021, all visitors to any Orana Business Service or Administration site must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and produce evidence when requested by a staff member upon entry. Anyone who is not able to produce evidence of being fully vaccinated will unfortunately be refused entry.
• All visitors must monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19. We ask you not to attend an Orana site if you are unwell or a close contact of a known case or have recently travelled from a COVID-19 hotspot.
• All visitors will be asked to QR code check-in, record their visit in a visitor register, must practice good hygiene, including the wearing of face masks and practise social distancing of 1.5m.
• Upon entering a site, the following standard set of risk screening questions will be asked of each visitor:
  • Over the past 14-days have you been unwell or been aware of any of the following symptoms: fever, night sweats or chills, cough, runny nose, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, loss of sense of smell or taste?
  • Have you been overseas or visited a COVID-19 hotspot in the last 14-days?
  • Have you been in contact with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 in the last 14-days?
  • Are you in close contact with someone who is currently unwell with symptoms of COVID-19, or someone deemed a close contact of a person with COVID-19?

Visitor screening for an Orana Supported Independent Living (SIL) home

• From 1 December 2021, anyone visiting an Orana Supported Independent Living home will be asked to QR code check-in, record their visit in a visitor register, must practice good hygiene, including the wearing of masks and social distancing of 1.5m.
• Any full vaccination requirement for visitors to Orana SIL homes is at the discretion of the Orana Client (s) who live at the home

 In the event of a positive COVID-19 case in Employment Services

• If a member of your family who works for Orana develops COVID-19 symptoms, please seek medical attention, have them tested, and contact the employee’s Manager.
• If the employee tests positive for COVID-19, please notify the employee’s Manager and follow the guidelines set out by SA Health. You may be contacted by different people from SA Health working together to support you, including through SMS and phone calls.

In the event of a positive COVID-19 case in Your Home (Independent Living Services)

• If your family member who is supported by Orana in their home exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, please seek medical attention, have them tested and notify Orana’s Service Manager on 8375 2000.
• If your family member receives a positive COVID-19 test result, please follow the guidelines set out by SA Health. You may be contacted by different people from SA Health working together to support you, including through SMS and phone calls. Please notify Orana’s Service Manager on 8375 2000.
• If your family member remains home, all essential support such as personal care, medication management, food preparation etc will continue.

In the event of a positive COVID-19 case in a Supported Independent Living (SIL) home

• If a family member who resides in an Orana 24 hour supported home or other housing provider property, exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, Orana will assist your family member to seek medical attention immediately and organise for them to be tested.
• If your family member is tested positive for COVID-19, Orana will follow the protocols and guidelines set out by SA Health. This will include immediately isolating them within the house, preferably their bedroom, to restrict interaction with other clients or until released under public health orders.
• In the event it is not safe for a client to isolate within their home, alternative accommodation will be sourced.
• Throughout this process, Orana will keep the family informed of the situation of any further developments.
• All Client Coaches supporting family members in their own homes or in an Orana or other housing provider home will be required to wear Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) which includes face masks, gloves, and gowns supplied by Orana. We will continue to monitor updates regularly to provide the best support possible to your family member.

Port Augusta Community Options, Capacity Building and DSSA

• If a member of your family is a current participant of Community Options or Capacity Building and develops COVID-19 symptoms, please seek medical attention, have them tested, and contact the participant’s Manager.
• If the employee tests positive for COVID-19, please notify the Manager and follow the guidelines set out by SA Health. You may be contacted by different people from SA Health working together to support you, including through SMS and phone calls.

To ensure Orana is creating a safe environment:

• Increased hygiene and sanitation measures are currently in place across all Orana sites and houses and we are continuing to encourage all staff to ensure they and those they support keep practising good hand hygiene.
• Where possible, we have reduced overlap between our services – neither staff nor clients will move between our sites. This not only reduces transmission but also ensures that if one of our sites is directed to close, we will still be able to provide support at other sites.

We want life to continue as normally as possible for those we support, in the safest possible manner to ensure the health and wellbeing of everyone by continuing to follow protocols as directed by the Australian Government and SA Health.

It is important to mention that as of 21 December 2021, there are no known cases of COVID-19 at any Orana site or house.

Thank you again for your ongoing patience and understanding as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely.

Nicholas Mihalaras
Chief Executive Officer
Orana Australia Limited