Page 2743 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 6 October 2021
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staff, have received their first vaccine dose, and 88.7 per cent were fully vaccinated as at 1 October.
On 1 October also, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, AHPPC, issued a statement recommending mandatory vaccination for all workers in healthcare settings as a condition of work. As we move closer to further easing of community restrictions, both in the ACT and interstate, we expect that there will be an increased prevalence of COVID-19 in the community, which may lead to an increase in COVID-19 hospital and ICU admissions.
Healthcare settings have a high likelihood of providing care for people with COVID-19, resulting in higher rates of potential exposure to staff and patients. While to date ACT hospitals have demonstrated the strength and effectiveness of their infection prevention and control measures, we have seen the impacts of outbreaks in healthcare settings in other jurisdictions.
Vaccinating healthcare workers is an effective way to protect them from this virus, whilst reducing the risk of transmission amongst patients and in the broader community. The ACT will therefore be looking to introduce mandatory vaccination for workers in healthcare facilities in a phased approach, commencing with our highest risk settings.
Yesterday, I announced that the government will soon be introducing a requirement for workers in certain healthcare settings to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be permitted to attend work. The mechanism for this will be through a new public health direction signed by the Chief Health Officer.
During the first phase, individuals who work in specific healthcare settings will be required to have a COVID-19 vaccination. These settings include any healthcare facility operated by Canberra Health Services; a public or private hospital; a day hospital, defined as a facility where a person is admitted for surgical or medical treatment and discharged on the same day; or a hospice. Workers who work for an ambulance or other patient transport service will also be required to have a COVID-19 vaccination.
These workers will be asked to produce evidence of vaccination to their employer within certain time frames—a minimum first dose of a registered COVID-19 vaccine by no later than 29 October 2021 and a second dose of a registered COVID-19 vaccine by no later than 1 December 2021. A consultation process is currently underway with staff, unions and other key stakeholders. It is envisaged that the Chief Health Officer will sign a public health direction by 15 October 2021.
Madam Speaker, getting vaccinated has never been more important. We are continuing to respond to community transmission across Canberra as this outbreak continues to unfold. We are now in our eighth week of lockdown and continuing the hard work to control the level of community transmission.
While the transmissibility of the Delta strain means that it is unlikely that we will be able to completely eliminate COVID-19 in the ACT, I am confident that the lockdown
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