Advice for Services, Parents and Carers
-
All travelers to Australia will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
-
Any confirmed case of COVID-19 will be excluded until they are medically cleared to return.
-
Close contacts of a confirmed case of COVID-19 will be excluded for 14 days since last contact with the confirmed case.
-
Children and staff who have returned to Australia and have shown no symptoms during the 14-day home-isolation period are able to return to services or work.
-
Children and staff who departed from or transited through China within the last 14 days, Iran within the last 14 days, Republic of Korea (South Korea) commencing 5 March 2020 and Italy commencing 11 March 2020, must self-isolate and be excluded from education and care service for 14 days.
-
The NSW Ministry of Health has processes to identify any close contacts of cases confirmed in Australia. Advice about not attending early childhood and child care services would be provided to these close contacts by the Ministry of Health.
-
In accordance with normal protocols staff and children who are unwell with respiratory illness should remain at home until symptoms resolve.
-
As per the National Law and Regulations governing all early childhood education and care services, you must report outbreaks of infectious disease to: your local Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055.
-
The NSW Regulatory Authority – for reporting requirements visit the Notifications and Reporting page or call 1800 619 113 (toll free).
Further Resources
COVID-19 – Information for parents and careers (PDF, 138KB)
COVID-19 – Information for educators and staff (PDF, 227KB)
COVID-19 and Excursions
Based on advice from NSW Ministry of Health we advise from 5 March 2020, early childhood education and care services should not visit aged care facilities until further notice to minimize the spread of respiratory infections, such as influenza and other respiratory viruses.
Further information on COVID-19 is also available from NSW Health.
We appreciate the complexity that changes in advice can have in the management of your early childhood education and care services and thank you for your leadership at this difficult time.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep you up to date on this matter.
Practicing Good Hygiene
Maintaining good hygiene standards is an important way to reduce the risk of acquiring and spreading respiratory infections.
Early childhood education and care services are reminded to provide appropriate handwashing soap as hand washing is the single most effective way to reduce the spread of germs that cause respiratory disease.
Health and hygiene support information including fact sheets and posters are available to help promote personal hygiene practices within our early childhood education
