Australian Health Protection Principal Committee statement on very high risk environments

Principles for risk mitigation of very high risk environments

Very high risk environments include:

• night clubs
• dance venues and events
• large unstructured outdoor events, such as:
  • music festivals
  • food festivals
  • schoolies graduation festivals
  • carnivals
  • some community sporting events
  • other unticketed spectator events.

These environments should not operate in Step 3.

Very high risk environments carry risk of COVID-19 transmission due to:

• their large numbers
• crowding and queuing
• people are in close proximity
• mixing between people who do not know each other
• loud volume speech, cheering, and singing
• activities such as dancing, singing
• intimate physical contact such as hugging, kissing, and sexual activities
• the service of alcohol and use of illicit drugs
• ventilation can be poor (indoor venues)
• an increased risk of the virus being on surfaces that lots of people touch
• multiple venues operating at the same time in any given state or territory
• people visiting multiple venues on any given day
• people attending from (and returning to) regional and interstate areas.

These factors all represent a risk to control of COVID-19 and starting new outbreaks across Australia.

State and territory health authorities will decide whether very high risk environments can open or hold events (such as live performances) after successful implementation of the 3-Step framework for a COVIDSafe Australia. They will do this based on the COVID-19 situation. However, large scale, multi-stage and multi-day events (where people stay overnight or attend over a number of days) will not be allowed.

State and territory health authorities will consider:

• local case numbers and how the virus is being transmitted in the community
• the national COVID-19 situation (if relevant)
• risk of disease importation from domestic or international locations (that is, domestic border measures, international border measures, quarantine requirements)
• the type of public health measures in place in the jurisdiction, and nationally
• the capacity of the health system to detect and manage COVID-19 cases