Working together to support Tasmanian households during COVID-19

Jeremy Rockliff,Minister for Disability Services and Community Development

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to community sector organisations for your help in ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of Tasmanians is prioritised as we face the challenges of COVID-19.

The community sector is working hard to ensure that we can provide support where it’s needed through our $1 million COVID-19 community organisation funding.

Key community sector organisations Red Cross, Salvation Army and Rural Business Tasmania, are working together across the state to support Tasmanians who are self-isolated, as well as supporting households impacted by the coronavirus.

Our vital food relief organisations such as Loaves and Fishes Tasmania, Foodbank Tasmania, Hobart City Mission and Hamlet, have also banded together and pivoted their operations towards the COVID-19 response.

These emergency food relief organisations are currently receiving around 50,000 kg of produce weekly, which equates to the delivery of almost 1500 food hampers to eligible Tasmanian households each week through various community organisations.

Each day almost 200 volunteers are working to coordinate delivery of over 5000 ready-to-eat meals for Tasmanians who are helping keep our communities safe through our quarantine measures, which will now increase to support the thousands of hospital staff and patients now in self isolation in the North West.

On behalf of the Tasmanian Government I’d like to express my gratitude for the rapid response and hard work that many community sector organisations and the public sector have delivered to support our entire community, especially those who would have found this situation far tougher without it.

COVID-19 is presenting challenges we have never had to deal with before, but overwhelmingly Tasmanians have taken the responsibility of physical distancing seriously, which is allowing us all to work together through this.

We understand that this continues to be a difficult time for Tasmanians, but we must all continue to work together. Our best weapon against coronavirus is social distancing, so please: stay home, save lives.

If anyone in self-isolation needs help, please call the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.

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