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. 

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 and wear a mask while visiting.

If you test positive on a rapid antigen test, it's best to register your result with Service NSW.

Voluntarily registering your result helps you access medical support from NSW Health, including antiviral medicines if you are eligible, and also assists NSW Health respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  

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 
• 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.