RetireAustralia Coronavirus update: 03 April 2020

We have introduced a lot of measures to protect our communities from COVID-19 in recent weeks. Our updates have been coming through thick and fast as the situation has changed so fast.

This is our 9th update. We sent our first COVID-19 update out in early February, and since then the situation has rapidly changed around the world. In that time we’ve introduced tighter restrictions and new systems to keep our communities safe and healthy.

We know there’s been a lot of change so the aim of this update is to summarise the key measures in place for our communities and why.

Regrettably some residents continue to gather and socialise in groups, putting themselves, their families and the community at risk.

If you are over 70 or have an existing health condition, you are at much greater risk of serious illness if you get COVID-19. If you don’t fall into either of these categories, please think about the members of your community who do and consider how your actions could put them at risk.

COVID-19 is very contagious and can be fatal. It is most likely to spread when we come in close contact with each other. We can all help stop the spread by keeping our distance from others.

This is why the government has introduced a range of restrictions to help us keep our distance and slow the spread of COVID-19. Please do your part and:

If you have to leave your home:

Our community facilities, social-sporting and lifestyle facilities remain temporarily closed in line with government requirements to close places of ‘social gathering’.

Residents, please help protect yourself and your community by staying at home as much as possible.

Family and friends, please limit visits to the essential – i.e. personal and home care, to drop off food, medication and essential supplies, and for compassionate reasons.

We know this is incredibly hard, but please think about how your actions might put older Australians at greater risk of serious illness. We encourage you to keep connected with your loved ones in more physically distant ways – phone, video, FaceTime, Facebook and the post.

Checkpoints, with visitor sign-in procedures, will better manage access to our communities in line with government requirements. Your visit will be discouraged if it isn’t essential and you will be asked key questions to understand your health status and potential exposure to COVID-19.

While we all need to stay at home as much as possible, we recognise that in some of our communities where we offer a bus service, our residents use this to go out and get essential supplies such as groceries and medication. We will continue to offer this service for the foreseeable future and urge residents using this service to comply with our stringent hygiene and social distancing restrictions.

We are making arrangements for residents to be able to access groceries without needing to travel to the shops in person. We will update you on this next week.

Independent living residents – if you would like a daily wellness check-in from us, please complete the form we sent you last week or contact your Village Manager.

Across our communities we’ve witnessed some beautiful gestures of care, connection and support as we all grapple with finding social connection while maintaining physical distance. As the reality sets in we are looking at how we capture these great initiatives and share them across our communities so that everyone can benefit.

If you have any ideas for physically distant but socially connected initiatives in your community, please let your Village Manager know or email us.

If you have any questions, please call your Village Manager or email us here. We will continue to update you regularly.

Sign up to receive our COVID-10 updates direct to your inbox here.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Alert: www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

The National Coronavirus Health Information Line 1800 020 080

www.health.nsw.gov.au