COVID-19 Primary Care Update 23/09/2022

23 September 2022

Good afternoon,

I would like to thank you for your ongoing support in managing patients in the community with the easing of a number of COVID-19 restrictions today as we move into the next phase of living with COVID.

COVID restrictions are easing from Friday 23 September 2022

A number of COVID-19 restrictions have been removed today.

Residential aged care facilities

Due to the importance of visitors for an aged care facility resident’s wellbeing and recognising that RACF are people’s homes, visitors entering a RACF from Friday will no longer be required to be vaccinated against influenza or COVID-19, but it’s still important for people to be vaccinated for their best protection.

This applies to visitors only and does not apply to staff or those engaged to work or perform duties at facilities where the mandate remains, making the approach consistent with other high risk settings. The visitor restrictions for RACFs relating to vaccinations have also been lifted.

Other protective measures remain in place around mask wearing and it is a strong recommendation to do a RAT before visiting.

Contact tracing, QR Codes and COVID Safe Plans

For the Emergency Management (COVID-19 Requirements) (Consolidated Measures) Direction 2022, the following requirements are being removed:

Contact tracing and QR Code check-in requirements for disability care facilities, public and private hospitals, and Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) is changing in two stages:
- Stage 1 – the requirement for businesses and facilities to display, collect and retain contact tracing information, and for individuals to check in and upload their relevant contact details will be removed from Friday 23 September 2022.
- Stage 2 – the requirements that support the protection and retention of the data for 28 days in the database operated by DPC will be removed on Friday 21 October 2022 (28 days later).
The requirement to have a COVID Safe Plan at a disability care facility, public and private hospital, and a Tier 2 sensitive setting will be removed from Friday 23 September 2022.

Combination COVID-19 and influenza self-tests

TGA recently approved the first two nasal combination self-tests (for use at home) that detect both COVID-19 and influenza viral infections in humans:

TouchBio SARS-CoV-2 & FLU A/B Antigen Combo Test (Nasal)
Fanttest COVID-19 / Influenza A&B Antigen Test Kit.

Combination self-tests are like other COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RATs) but feature an additional line on the test cassette that indicates the presence of influenza A and B. For many consumers, distinguishing between COVID-19 and influenza is important in managing their infections.

The TGA anticipates that the suppliers of these combination tests will make them available for consumers to buy at pharmacies, supermarkets or online and are for adults, noting that children require adult supervision when using the tests.

For additional information on combination rapid antigen self-tests including the Instructions for Use go to:

PHN GP webinar session - COVID-19 Update for Primary Care Providers

Adelaide Primary Health Network will be hosting the COVID-19 Update for Primary Care Providers webinar planned for Monday 27 September.

The webinar will be facilitated by Dr Emily Kirkpatrick, Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Dr Melanie Smith, GP Liaison Community and Primary Care Partnerships Branch, SA Health with a presentation by Dr Suzi Pedler, GP Liaison, COVID-19 Vaccination Program, SA Health.

If you are interested in attending, please register for this event.

Dedicated COVID-19 Clinical Medical Advice Line (1800 313 090)

A reminder that there is a dedicated COVID-19 Clinical Medical Advice Line available to support GPs and other medical specialists with COVID-19 management in the community and oral antiviral prescribing advice.

Please call 1800 313 090 to speak with the COVID Community Hub Team from 8am to 8pm, 7 days.

You can select options to discuss with Hub nursing staff, our medical team or DATIS for antiviral prescribing advice. While we endeavour to answer all calls immediately, if there is a wait time, we have call back facilities.

Please note this phone line is for clinician use only and should not be accessed directly by patients.

SASMA 2022 Sports Medicine in GP Course

SASMA is holding the 2022 Sports Medicine in GP Course from the 20th to 23rd October at Payneham Community Facility.

This is a 3.5 day event involving up to 25 GP’s with an interest in Sports Medicine and is aimed at providing an introduction to Sports Medicine focusing on musculoskeletal examination, diagnostic and management techniques for both common and complex sports injuries.

If you are interested in attending, please register for this event.

Please forward this update to any colleagues who may not have received it and contact us at Health.COVID-19GPLiaison@sa.gov.au to be added to our mailing list or with any other enquiries. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list please reply STOP.

Dr Emily Kirkpatrick
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Deputy Chief Medical Officer
Department for Health and Wellbeing

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Last updated: 10 Nov 2022