New Covid settings introduced

Last week the government announced some changes to pandemic orders, which will come into effect on Friday, June 24.

Masks must still be worn on public transport, taxis, ride shares, and planes but will no longer be required at airports. Masks are also still required in sensitive settings such as hospitals and care facilities.

Positive cases must still isolate for seven days from the day they took their test but may now leave home to drive a household member directly to or from education or work without leaving their vehicle.

They can also leave home to get medical care, a COVID-19 test, or in an emergency, including the risk of harm.

To continue to protect the most vulnerable through winter, workers who interact with a vulnerable person will still require three COVID-19 vaccine doses. This includes residential aged care and disability care, healthcare, and custodial and emergency services, including police.

Government imposed third dose mandates in education, food distribution, meat and seafood processing and quarantine accommodation sectors will be lifted. Vaccination policies will now be the responsibility of individual workplaces.

Rules requiring general workers to work from home, unless they are double-vaccinated are lifted. Employers will still be able to set their own workplace conditions.

Visitor caps to care facilities, including residential aged care and disability are removed, with residents able to see any number of people as long as they test negative on a rapid antigen test that day.

If a test is unavailable, a person can only be present for limited reasons such as end-of-life visits. Centres may introduce their own visitor rules to respond to local risk.