The New Zealand Government has announced that from Tuesday, 15 August 2023 COVID-19 restrictions would end. This means that masks are no longer required for visitors or team members in Aged Residential Care. We would like to thank all our teams for following the guidance over the last 3.5 years. We appreciate that wearing masks can be uncomfortable and impact on communication and so this is a very significant change. We will of course still be following standard precautions and remind teams to continue with mask wearing when appropriate for reducing the risk of any airborne infections.

There is a recommended isolation period of 5 days for people who test positive for COVID-19 and information for close contacts. It also recommends wearing a mask when visiting an aged care facility and other health services for 10 days after testing positive or the first symptoms.

If you experience symptoms associated with COVID-19

• Perform a RAT test
• If this is positive please isolate for 5 days
• Wear a mask in our facilities for 10 days following the first symptoms or the day you tested positive

If someone in your household tests positive

• Perform a RAT test each day for 5 days
• If you test positive please isolate for 5 days as above

Links to the Government statement and information about standard precautions are pasted below:

Government announcement

NZ Health Quality and Safety Commission information about standard precautions

WHO information about standard precautions