AQA and coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
AQA has established a COVID-19 Task Group that is responsible for monitoring official responses to the coronavirus crisis as it unfolds, and for taking appropriate action.
Our role as an employer and service provider is to follow authoritative recommendations on minimising the spread of the new coronavirus and its associated illness, COVID-19, among our staff and the people they serve.
This page offers helpful online information for the community associated with AQA and our divisions AQA Spire and AQA Qualcare.
Do you have COVID-19? Online self-checks have been updated
If you or a person you are working with is feeling sick, you can use this Coronavirus Self-assessment Tool to find out whether you should report your symptoms to the Coronavirus Hotline, your doctor, or a hospital emergency service, and follow advice on getting tested for COVID-19.
The online self-assessment, from the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria, has been updated to reflect expanded criteria for testing, and offers advice specifically for paid and unpaid workers in disability care.
The Australian Government Online Symptom Checker has also been updated.
Thank-you carers, you’re amazing
Clients, staff and directors of AQA have come together to compile a video that expresses their appreciation and gratitude for the resilience of disability support workers and carers.
Poster on delivering in-home care
AQA has produced a poster that offers suggestions to disability support workers and their clients on controlling their exposure to COVID-19 while working together. You can view and download the poster here. Clients are encouraged to display the A4 poster prominently.
Stay at home restrictions
Note that Victoria’s Stay at home restrictions explicitly allow you to leave your home for the purpose of delivering care to any person who needs the care because they have a disability.
PPE stores for NDIS participants
Two industrial safety suppliers have created online stores for NDIS participants that offer personal protective equipment (PPE) such as disposable gloves. The facilities were set up in collaboration with disability advocate the Summer Foundation.
Information about the initiative is available at the foundation’s PPE Initiative FAQ, which also carries a link to the stores via the foundation’s PPE Initiative web page.
An NDIS participant number is needed to access the stores, which are operated by RSEA and Blackwoods.
The latest updates on coronavirus
As AQA operates in the State of Victoria, the most relevant information resource for us is the page on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria.
The department also offers helpful information for people with a disability.
The key supplementary resource for AQA is the Australian Government Department of Health Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert page.
Authoritative information on how the new coronavirus is affecting nations around the world can be found at the World Health Organisation Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic page.
Automatic extension for NDIS plans
NDIS participants will have plans extended for a year on the day they are due to expire, the National Disability Insurance Agency has announced.
In addition, participants will be able to fund Support Coordination from their Core budgets if they wish to.
You can read the full announcement at the NDIS website.
The World Health Organisation Q&A
A helpful resource from the World Health Organisation is its Coronavirus Q&A page (questions and answers).
Among the questions answered clearly here are:
- What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
- How does COVID-19 spread?
The second answer includes information on the likelihood of virus transmission through contact with faeces.
Detailed information for Victorians
Detailed information about the coronavirus and the response to it in Victoria can be found at the DHHS Victoria About Coronavirus (COVID-19) page.
This page carries a series of headings, each taking you to detail on a particular topic.
Headings of particular interest may be:
- How can I reduce my risk of coronavirus infection?
- What is the difference between coronavirus and the flu?
- Where are the coronavirus assessment centres?
Infection control training
The Australian Government has released a Training Module on Infection Control for Coronavirus. The module offers general information and takes about 30 minutes to complete. AQA strongly encourages disability support workers and clients to refresh their understanding of infection control by completing this training.
Protect yourself from the flu
This year there are even more good reasons than usual for protecting yourself from influenza with a vaccination. Learn how to get your flu shot, and why it could be so helpful, from this blog post by AQA Spire peer support coordinator Peter Van Benthem.
Social distancing, and posters
The Australian Government has posted a fact sheet on social distancing. It explains why, when and how you should put some distance between you and other people, to reduce the risk of virus transmission.
AQA has produced a poster for support workers and clients on how they can control their exposure to COVID-19 while working together.
You can also download posters that explain how you can Reduce your risk of infection with coronavirus, Wash your hands properly, and Cover your coughs and sneezes to avoid spreading infection. (Some of these links may download a PDF of the poster to the downloads folder on your computer, rather than opening a new page on your web browser.)
Disability Information Helpline
A telephone helpline promoted by the Australian Government Department of Social Services offers information about coronavirus, and referrals, to people with disability.
The department says the Disability Information Helpline is free, private and fact-checked, and can also help families, carers, support workers and services.
AQA encourages discussion among clients, support workers and office staff
AQA encourages support workers and their clients to talk about what measures they will take when working together to minimise the likelihood of transmitting coronavirus or an influenza virus.
A recent blog post authored by Wayne Bradshaw, an AQA information officer who has paraplegia, explains why conversations of this kind can be so helpful for AQA clients.
A recent blog post authored by Peter Van Benthem, who lives with a C4 spinal cord injury, and who receives in-home personal care from a team of support workers, shares some steps he and his carers have taken to reduce their risk of cross-infection.
AQA also encourages support workers and their clients to consult AQA office staff if they need to raise specific concerns they have about coronavirus or flu infection when working together. The best person to raise concerns with is the client’s Service Partnership Coordinator, who can be contacted through AQA reception (which is also AQA Qualcare reception).
Naming the coronavirus
Finally, if you feel confused by the different terms associated with the new coronavirus you may find some relief in the World Health Organisation’s official coronavirus naming page.
Here the WHO tells us that the official name for this coronavirus is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or (SARS-CoV-2).
The official name for the disease associated with the virus is COVID-19. However, in communicating with the general public, the WHO has decided to call the virus the COVID-19 virus. On that page it explains its decision.
This post was updated on 19 May.
