In light of the rapidly escalating COVID-19 situation in South Australia, UnitingSA’s COVID-19 Executive Management Committee has determined that additional visitor restrictions are required to protect the elderly people in our care.

Daily case numbers in South Australia have now surpassed 1,400, with a growing number of Aged Care providers directly impacted by a COVID-19 exposure.

Due to positive case/s, three of our Residential Aged Care homes have activated their COVID-19 Outbreak Management Plan and remain in lockdown.

Our top priority is to protect our residents and team members from COVID-19 by minimising the spread of the virus as much as possible.

With this in mind, the following visitor restrictions will take effect from midnight tonight and will apply to all of our homes which are not in lockdown:

A limit of one visitor per day, with a single visit of up to one hour. All visits must:

  • Be pre-booked via phone or email
  • Take place between 10am and 4pm daily, or 6pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
  • Occur in the resident’s room

In addition to the above, we also strongly encourage residents to reconsider the need for social outings, due to the heightened risk of COVID-19 in our community. Please note, residents at our aged care homes which are in lockdown are not permitted to leave their site, as per SA Health directions (excluding for the purpose of urgent medical care).

We also ask family and friends to act with great caution in deciding whether or not to visit their loved one at this time, and to practice social distancing, wear a face mask at all times, and adhere to good hand hygiene if they do visit.

UnitingSA encourages loved ones to keep in touch by contacting their aged care team who can assist them in arranging phone calls, Skype video calls, emails, letters, postcards and care packages.

We understand the requirement to limit daily visits may be difficult for some residents and families, however we feel it strikes the best possible balance between risk mitigation and maintaining important social connections. Requests for additional visits on compassionate grounds will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by each home’s Site Operations Manager or Director of Nursing.