Coronavirus changes in South Australia

New information. Coronavirus changes in South Australia. Map of SA, and a face mask emoji.

South Australia has gone into 6-day a “hard lockdown” starting on Thursday November 19. We’ve popped all the info people with disability and families need to know right here – and we will keep updating as new info comes out.

Skip to content

Friday November 20 – lockdown ending earlier

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall announced today that the hard lockdown would end three days early, from midnight Saturday November 21.

And as of noon today, “exercise outside of your home with members of your household is permitted.”

SA Government COVID-19 Response

ABC News – South Australia will end its hard lockdown on Saturday night — three days early

Thursday November 19 – NDIS & PPE

Temporary changes to the NDIS for people in South Australia have been announced.

deep cleaning of residences in the event a support worker returns a positive COVID-19 test;
additional support, including a deep cleaning service, for participants who test positive for COVID-19 or who are required to isolate who live in a Supported Independent Living (SIL) setting;
NDIS participants in South Australia who rely on face-to-face supports and assistance with their daily living will be able to use an existing support item (Low Cost Disability-Related Health Consumables) to claim on the cost of PPE for their own use at times their worker is with them;
and Providers in South Australia able to claim an allowance of $1.70 per hour of support delivered in the Activities of Daily Life Support Category, to cover the cost of PPE for workers, directly from the NDIA, ensuring participant plan funds are not impacted by the use of PPE by their providers and workers.
more hours of support coordination.

Wednesday November 18 – new lockdown

New restrictions will be introduced from 12:01 am on Thursday November 19.

The new rules will apply for six days. They are due to end at 12:01 am on Wednesday November 25.

You can only leave your home for:
😷 essential work
😷 medical care
😷 to shop for necessities
😷 caregiving.

You can’t leave your home to exercise.

Only one person per household can leave the house for shopping once a day.

Schools will close – but children of essential workers will still be able to attend in person.

All retail including shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes will shut.

Supermarkets, chemists, medical services will however all stay open.

Public transport will still continue.

Aged care and disability residential services will be in lockdown – no visitors.

At the end of this six-day period there will be a further eight days with reduced restrictions. More information about that will follow.

👉 Here is some media coverage of the new rules
ABC – South Australia’s coronavirus lockdown explained — what’s open and what’s closed
7 News – SA COVID lockdown restrictions: Essential worker definition and more reasons to leave home

👉 You can also find more information on this South Australian government website

❤️ We are sending virtual hugs across the border to everyone in South Australia. We know how hard this is on everyone – please reach out for help if you find yourself struggling.

Support and resources

Answers

☎️ Don’t forget you can still call the Disability Information Helpline with any questions you might have about COVID19. Restrictions, testing, services, anything at all – they are there to help.

The Helpline is run by the good folks at IDEAS Disability Information who are really on top of all things disability.

So if you have questions give them a call.

☎️ 1800 643 787 Monday to Friday 8 am to 8 pm (AEST) and Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 7 pm (AEST).

Keep an eye on their website for all the latest – Live in SA – Need to Know COVID-19 Info

Easy Read

COVID 19 Easy Read News – South Australia 19th Nov 2020 – SACID

Easy English: Adelaide city and coronavirus – City of Adelaide

Auslan

Daily Auslan updates from Expression Australia

Masks and PPE

There are a bunch of helpful resources out there about how to wear masks. A lot of these have come from Victoria but we will update this section as new resources from South Australia come out.

The Department of Health have some fact sheets for people with disability and workers:

There is a great video from Australia’s Chief Nursing and Midwifery officer about how support workers should use and wear PPE

This might also be a good time for support workers to refresh themselves about PPE and infection control. There is a free online module from the Department of Health. You have to create a log in, but once you have done that you are good to go. And anyone can do it – people with disability, family members, support workers.

The Department of Health has an infographic which explains when you need to wear a mask and how to put it on

It has also been translated into lots of different languages

The Victorian government’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has lots of information about when and why you should wear a mask. It includes a couple of videos.

And the DHHS page on COVID-19 for people with disability now includes a handful of factsheets and Easy Read documents.

And the Australian government has produced some material in Easy Read.

Deaf Victoria have made some advocacy graphics for the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community, to help make your communication preferences known when someone is wearing a mask. Find the full range of graphics on the Deaf Victoria website here.

News hub