Australian Government Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly has today declared the whole state of New South Wales a Hotspot for the purpose of Commonwealth support from 11:59pm on 14 August 2021, for an initial period of 7 days until 11:59pm on 21 August 2021, with review on or before this date.
Increasing daily case numbers, and a high proportion of cases infectious whilst in the community has seen recent spread to regional areas within NSW. There is an ongoing risk that the virus could continue to spread not only within the state, including into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but to other jurisdictions in Australia.
Professor Kelly reminds the community of the risk and requests they continue to follow the directions of New South Wales Health.
Declaring a hotspot for Commonwealth support triggers, if required:
- Provision of PPE from the National Medical Stockpile
- Actions for aged care facilities including PPE, single site workforce supplement and integration of an aged care response centre into the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre
- Assistance with contact tracing
- Asymptomatic testing via General Practice led Respiratory Clinics
- Reprioritisation of vaccine supplies, if required
- Access to COVID-19 Disaster Payment, if eligibility criteria are met
- Two Medicare Benefits Schedule items for telehealth consultations for patients in COVID-19 hotspots.
