RetireAustralia COVID-19 update: Precautionary measures for Central Coast villages

Published: 21 December 2020

The New South Wales government has announced COVID-19 restrictions for Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong from midnight Sunday 20 December until midnight on Wednesday 23 December.

The New South Wales Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, says this is necessary to contain the Northern Beaches cluster and slow the spread of COVID-19.

What are the restrictions?

From midnight on Sunday 20 December, the following applies on the Central Coast:

Maximum of 10 visitors at household gatherings.
4sqm rule applies to all indoor public gatherings e.g. churches, weddings, restaurants etc.
No singing, chanting or dancing.

Additionally, the Northern Beaches LGA is in lockdown until midnight on Wednesday 23 December. People can only leave their homes or visit the Northern Beaches LGA if it is essential:

Shopping or food or other essential goods and services.
Medical care or compassionate needs.
In an emergency.

The NSW Police are enforcing these restrictions and penalties apply.

The government is also strongly recommending people in NSW wear masks at all times when in indoor public areas. This includes shopping centres, supermarkets and shops; public transport, healthcare facilities and aged care facilities.

What does this mean for our Central Coast Villages?

We acknowledge that these restrictions are incredibly hard, especially given the time of year and that many of you will have plans to spend time with family and friends. However, given the elevated risk, it is important that we all do the right thing and work together to keep our communities safe.

RetireAustralia is implementing the following precautionary measures:

From Monday 21 December, village checkpoints are being put in place to screen visitors to our Central Coast villages.
In light of the elevated risk, we’ve made the difficult decision to wind up community activities and access to the community centre a little early. So the last social and sporting activities be on Monday 21^st and we will reconvene in the New Year.
If you need to access the community centre or community facilities after this time, please liaise with your Village Manager.
Staff and essential workers will wear masks when delivering services to residents and when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Visitors will be requested to wear masks too.

In the short term, we urge you to take precautions:

Travelling to and receiving visitors from high risk COVID-19 areas:
- Visit the NSW Health website or check the village COVID-19 noticeboard for the latest updates on COVID-19 hotspots and high risk areas.
- If you have recently visited a high risk area (as defined by the NSW Government), please self-isolate and follow government advice.
- Visitors from the Northern Beaches must not enter the village please.
- We recommend that visitors from emerging high risk areas including Greater Sydney, Wollongong and the Central Coast do not visit the village.
- We recommend that you avoid travelling to high risk areas.
When you go out, practice social distancing and good hand hygiene and consider wearing a mask in indoor public areas.
Keep track of your visitors and the places you visit.
Please ensure your visitors do not access any community areas or shared village facilities.
If you have even the mildest COVID-19 symptoms please get tested and let your Village Manager know.

We are here to help

If you have any questions or concerns, please call your Village Manager directly.

In particular, if you are unclear of the restrictions or need help accessing groceries, medication, masks or healthcare appointments, please call.

Thank you so much for your cooperation and support. We understand that the timing of these restrictions will be hard for many residents as we head into the Christmas holidays.

We are monitoring this closely and will provide further updates as the situation evolves.