24/06/2022

You may have seen COVID-19 in the news again, with the announcement that South Australia’s Major Emergency Declaration has been lifted. This announcement changes the way COVID-19 requirements are managed, but doesn’t remove them. As a department we have reviewed our position on current requirements.

Face to face visits

Home visits and family contact arrangements are continuing as per usual wherever possible. DCP and agency staff are following COVID-19 safe measures, including the wearing of masks and practicing social distancing. All DCP staff and support agency staff visiting carers and children and young people are required to be fully vaccinated.

Where to get support

If you, or the child or young person in your care tests positive to COVID-19 please let your DCP case worker and/or support agency know. If you need to go to hospital and are a single carer household, please contact your support agency who will work with you while other carer arrangements are made.

Many adults, and children and young people with COVID-19 will only experience a mild illness or will have no symptoms and can remain safely at home without the need for medical support.

For those who need extra care, the Women’s and Children’s Hospital has set-up a dedicated virtual service providing specialist support for children and young people who test positive to COVID-19. This service is called COVIDKids. Find out more at: www.wch.sa.gov.au/covid-19/covidkids.

Vaccination

We know that vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective way to reduce the risks of severe illness and hospitalisation.

It is the department’s position that all eligible children and young people (unless medically contraindicated) should have access to and receive the COVID-19 vaccination. The department gives its consent for all children and young people under guardianship of the Chief Executive to be vaccinated if they are eligible for it.

Young people over the age of 16 years can make decisions about their own medical treatment.  To help them make an informed choice about vaccinations, case workers and carers should ensure young people have access to age-appropriate information about being vaccinated and the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccination.

Vaccination hubs are now operating at schools across metropolitan and regional SA. This program makes vaccination for primary school aged children even more accessible. Find out more about which schools are involved at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidvaxschools.

Flu vaccination

SA Health is also encouraging children aged over six months to receive the flu vaccination, so please also be mindful of this as we come into the winter months.

The 2022 flu season is expected to be more severe following two years of the COVID-19 pandemic response, with reduced natural immunity and low influenza vaccination rates. You can find out more about the flu program on the SA Health website.

SA Health and the Education Department

The COVID-19  situation is changing daily so it is important to regularly check updates from authorised sources of information.

Visit the SA Health website to keep up to date with close contact guidelines: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au

For the latest on COVID-19 information from the Education Department, visit https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parents-and-families/covid-19-coronavirus

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