Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, has declared Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council and Cabonne Shire Council a COVID-19 Hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support, for an initial period of 7 days to 11:59pm on 28 July.
“NSW have announced the occurrence of a case of COVID-19 Delta variant in Blayney with multiple exposure sites within the three LGAs listed on the New South Wales’ Government’s website,” Professor Kelly said in a statement issued late on Wednesday night.
“Due to the increased risk posed by the Delta variant and cases having been in the community while infectious, the Commonwealth has offered the New South Wales Government its support and assistance.”
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 the COVID-19 disaster payment, if eligibility criteria is met
- Two Medicare Benefits Schedule items for telehealth consultations for patients in COVID-19 hotspots.
Read more about listing areas as COVID-19 hotspots.
