Businesses helped to learn to be ‘COVID-clean’
Retail, hospitality and other businesses will be taught high-level cleaning skills ahead of a move to reopen more outlets next month. It comes as SA hits five days in a row with no active virus cases.
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Up to 5500 South Australians in retail, hospitality, tourism, security and transport industries will benefit from a new training program to prepare the sectors for reopening and staying “COVID-clean”.
It comes as SA records its 12th day in a row with zero new coronavirus cases, and the fifth day with no active known cases.
The $5.5 million toolkit, co-funded by the state and federal governments, will teach skills like hand hygiene practices, effective surface cleaning, use of personal protective equipment and disposing of contaminated waste.
Premier Steven Marshall said having skilled operators was critical and the accredited program was being developed in consultation with the sectors.
“As restaurants and pubs gear up to get back to work, the ‘COVID-clean’ toolkit will boost business confidence, particularly as restrictions begin to ease,” Mr Marshall said on Tuesday.
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“We’ve already had weeks of work with individual industries, making sure the training materials provided are fit for purpose (and) tailored for their sector. He said the materials would be finalised in the coming weeks and was likely to be an online course.
South Australian pubs are due to open next month but would be “modified”, likely beginning with table service, according to the premier.
“You won’t be having a situation where there might be 200 people clambering to get to the bar.
“We’re working through that model (and) if we make sure we have trained personnel, we’ll be able to get businesses up and running viably much sooner than other states.” Hotel manager Matthew Binns said opening the business for 10 people, under the current restrictions, was not sustainable.
Mr Binns believed his employees would embrace the training program because it was for their own safety as well as customers.
“We were putting in place our own plans to do a similar thing so to have a structure is a good thing for our employees and our customers.”
– Emily Cosenza, AAP
Testing hones in on truckies entering SA
South Australia’s world-leading coronavirus testing has been expanded to include focused tests on transport workers.
SA Health has identified a series of professions including health care and aged care workers for targeted COVID-19 tests.
On Monday, SA Health said there were again no new cases, and SA continues to have zero active COVID-19 cases.
As the number of tests hit 80,000, the government announced testing would expand to include transport workers including truck drivers, especially those who travel interstate.
The Active Testing Surveillance Framework has also identified seasonal workers, homeless people and prisoners to be targeted.
Premier Steven Marshall said boosting SA’s testing regime was the next step in the government’s plan to keep the state “safe and strong”.
“The expansion of testing is the next step in our strong plan to protect South Australians from the health and economic impacts of this nasty virus,” he said.
“Extensive testing for COVID-19 has been a hallmark of South Australia’s strong, decisive response to the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“To safely ease restrictions as soon as possible we must have the confidence we can identify cases and quickly isolate the virus.”
SA borders to stay shut
Premier Steven Marshall has flatly rejected calls to reopen the state’s borders, saying more freedoms could be relaxed in the next wave of opening up if SA holds the line.
SA Health on Sunday reported another day of no new cases, and zero active cases, as the state continues to be a national and global leader in the bid to eradicate coronavirus.
The State Government is also launching a new testing phase that targets the homeless, in a bid to ensure hidden cases have not gone undetected amid the dramatic and sustained drop in no new known coronavirus cases.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Sunday criticised fellow premiers for keeping their borders shut, saying it was stopping the national economy from firing back up.
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