Thank you for being a Member of Five Good Friends. It is an honour to be providing you help and support.

As always our primary focus is to keep all of our Members and Helpers safe. As you will be aware, at 5.00pm tonight Greater Brisbane (Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands and Moreton council areas) will be placed into a three day lockdown which is scheduled to end at 5.00pm on Thursday April 1st.

The lockdown comes after several people in the community have tested positive to COVID-19.

What does this mean for your services?

Visits can continue during the lockdown period. Helpers who work in Greater Brisbane must follow scenario 2B in the Standard Operating Procedure including wearing a mask, gloves and apron for all visits. Helpers providing services outside of the Greater Brisbane area in Queensland must follow Scenario 2C in the Standard Operating Procedure which requires the wearing of masks for all visits.

The Queensland Health website is providing updated information on the lockdown. Our Coronavirus Response Team is monitoring the situation closely. If you have any concerns or questions please contact your Care Manager whose details are in the app or the Member Services Team on 1300 787 581 and select Option 1.

Areas of high concern

If you have been in these locations at the identified times Queensland Health is asking individuals to:

• quarantine at home immediately for 14 days since attending those venues at those times
• complete the contact tracing self-assessment if you have not already been contacted by Queensland Health in relation to this potential exposure. If you are unable to complete the online contact-tracing self-assessment please call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84)
• stay quarantined even if you get a negative test until 14 days have passed since you were last there. It can take 14 days before you may show symptoms or test positive.

Rescheduling visits

We encourage you to discuss your services directly with your Helpers. If they are not essential you can reschedule these for another time. If you require further assistance you can also contact our Member Services Team on 1300 787 581, Option #1.

COVID-19 Safe work practices

We have developed a regularly updated resource for all Five Good Friends team members, Helpers and Members. Our COVID-19 Safe work practices and Standard Operating Procedure are informed by Commonwealth and State Departments of Health.

These documents provide guidance on how to safely manage and deliver services. Today we have sent communications to all Queensland Helpers advising them on key updates which are relevant for all Members as well.

Testing remains a priority for everyone

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, fever, sore throat, shortness of breath or runny nose, even if these are mild, you should get tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible. To arrange testing contact your GP or you can visit a COVID-19 testing clinic in your area. You can find testing locations on the Queensland Health website. Please advise us and your Helper if you are going to be tested.

COVID-19 vaccination

Last week we wrote to you about the COVID-19 vaccination roll out. Your nearest vaccination service can be quickly located by completing the Eligibility Checker. The Government states new service locations are being added, to reach the goal of 4600 sites nationally. The final screen provides a search option based on location. You can make bookings directly.

This fact sheet also lists the general practices, Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Services, and GP-led respiratory clinics as at March 16th where COVID-19 vaccinations will be available:

We can assist you to receive your vaccination as part of your usual Five Good Friends services. If you would like assistance, please call your Care Manager whose details are in the app, or contact the Members Services Team on 1300 787 581, Option #1.

Simple things we need to keep doing

The Australian Government Department of Health have released a short video - Living the new normal as a quick and easy reminder of important things we can all continue to do to look after ourselves and support each other during this time.

We continue to urge all Helpers and Five Good Friends team members to be vigilant in their management of COVID-19 and any symptoms. This includes cancelling visits if they have any concerns. If your Helper does need to cancel a visit at short notice we would be grateful for your understanding. We will work very hard to ensure your services continue with minimal disruption.

We are grateful you have chosen Five Good Friends. We will continue to diligently monitor the COVID-19 situation and do our best to provide you safe, flexible, kind and consistent help and support.

William Garton
Head of Quality and Programme Development