Visiting aged care and vulnerable people

Visitors, residents and staff should read the NSW Health advice for residential aged care facilities and disability care facilities. You should also contact the facility to check current arrangements. 

If you are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19, you must not visit high-risk settings (healthcare, aged care, disability care or correctional facilities) for 7 days from the last time someone in your household tested positive to COVID-19.

Exceptions apply such as if you require care yourself, or you have permission from the facility to visit in exceptional circumstances (e.g. end of life visits).  

To help protect those in the facility, you should consider using a rapid antigen test before entering a high risk setting.

Anyone who tests positive using a rapid antigen test must register their test result.

There are steps you can take to keep people safe if you visit residential aged care or residential disability care facilities:

• stay up to date with your vaccinations, including COVID-19 and flu
• take a rapid antigen test before visiting to ensure you are not spreading COVID-19
• wear a mask in high risk settings like aged care, disability care, correctional facilities or healthcare. Masks remain mandatory under the Public Health Order for all people over the age of 12 years in public hospitals, private health and residential aged care facilities
• do not visit if you have any cold or flu-like symptoms, including;
  • fever (37.5C or higher)
  • cough
  • sore or scratchy throat
  • shortness of breath
  • runny nose
  • loss of smell or
  • loss of taste
• frequently wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub
• cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or a flexed elbow
• maintain physical distancing.