Coronavirus (COVID-19) update – 14 January 2022
| Coronavirus (COVID-19) update – 14 January 2022View this email in your browser |
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| Coronavirus (COVID-19) update – Friday 14 January With COVID cases at record highs across the country and supply chains under pressure, we are faced with challenges in the weeks ahead. The below information outlines what to do if you or someone in your business tests positive and key details about the new vaccine mandate for food distribution workers. Face masks It is compulsory to wear your face mask fitted over your nose and mouth at all times while indoors at the Melbourne Market. With the extremely contagious nature of the Omicron variant, mask-wearing outside is also highly recommended. Face masks are the easiest and most effective way of combating COVID spread. What to do if you are symptomatic If you are experiencing COVID related symptoms, do not come to the Melbourne Market. You should undertake a PCR or rapid antigen test and only attend the market after confirmation of a negative result. What to do if you test positive Step 1: Focus on your health and get medical help if you need it Step 2: Begin immediate isolation for 7 days. If the positive result was via a rapid antigen test, report via the government portal, which you can access here or call 1800 675 398. Step 3: Tell your household and household-like contacts they must isolate for 7 days (these are the people you live with or you have spent more than four hours with in a house). Household contacts must return a negative day 6 test before leaving isolation. Step 4: Tell your ‘social contacts’ (friends and family you’ve spent time with) to get tested if they have symptoms. Step 5: Tell your workplace; this includes both your employer and the MMA. You should only return to the Melbourne Market after your 7-day isolation if you are no longer symptomatic. If you continue to display COVID symptoms beyond 7 days, you should consider yourself contagious and remain isolated until symptoms reside. As well as informing your employer, you, or your employer, must notify the MMA of your positive result by calling 0408 334 555. Given the volume of positive COVID cases, the MMA will no longer be updating the Melbourne Market COVID exposure list on our website. To view the Victorian Government’s checklist on what to do if you test positive, go to www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/checklist-cases. What to do if someone in your business tests positive If you are informed that you are a social or workplace contact of a confirmed positive case, there is a possibility you may have contracted COVID. If you have symptoms, you must use a rapid antigen or PCR test and not attend the market until confirmation of a negative result.If you don’t have symptoms, you are strongly recommended to use a rapid antigen test daily for 5 days.If you test negative on the PCR or the rapid antigen tests, resume your normal activities. Keep monitoring for symptoms and get tested again if any develop. Vaccine Booster A booster vaccination should be administered four months after your second vaccine dose. Under new pandemic orders, workers in key sectors who are already required to be fully vaccinated must get their third vaccine dose before being permitted to work onsite; this includes workers in food distribution at the Melbourne Market. Workers eligible for their third dose on or before 12 January will have until 12 February to get their third dose. Food distribution workers who were not yet eligible for the third dose by 12 January (based on the 4-month wait between the second and third dose) must receive their third dose by 12 March. Employers must sight and record proof of vaccination. As of 24 January, COVID-19 digital certificates will automatically be updated to include the third dose. Retail staff (who do not attend the Melbourne Market) and Flower market users are not currently included in the new mandate.  To work out when you are eligible for your booster, check the date of your second vaccination dose on your COVID-19 digital certificate (example circled in red). Then use the guide below to work out when you are due.  There are several ways you can book your third vaccine dose: Book at a Victorian vaccination centre using the online booking system Call the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398 to book in at a Victorian vaccination centre Make a booking at your local GP or pharmacy. The MMA has been making efforts to get medical staff back onsite to reopen the Melbourne Market Vaccination Hub for boosters. But with severe pressures and staff shortages in the health care system, we have been informed this will most likely not be possible. Austin Health, which ran the successful vaccination hub at the market in 2021, will provide a priority vaccine booster system for Melbourne Market access cardholders. If you visit Austin Health’s La Trobe University vaccination clinic and show your market access card, you will be able to get your booster without an appointment. Currently, the clinic is by appointment only, so the wait time for any Melbourne Market access cardholders is expected to be minimal. The Austin Health clinic is open 8 am-8 pm, seven days a week, atCar Park 6, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086.To read more about the third vaccine dose, visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/third-dose We ask you to be vigilant and continue to follow COVIDSafe practicesDo not attend the Melbourne Market if you are feeling unwell. If you are experiencing COVID symptoms, get tested and isolate until you receive a negative result.  |
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