SA Health’s plan for water, power, supermarkets as Covid arrives

SA Health has released a plan for vital services such as water, power and food suppliers, so they have a step-by-step guide on what to do when Covid hits.

SA Health’s new blueprints for key services in the event of a Covid contact are built on yet more complex “spaghetti nation” matrix plans of how to deal with different scenarios.

They still boil down to quarantine for seven days if double vaccinated and 14 days if unvaccinated for close contacts, but are aimed at getting casual contacts back to work faster, while ensuring fellow workers are protected.

Deputy chief public health officer Dr Emily Kirkpatrick told The Advertiser the plans needed to be detailed so workplaces could quickly work out exactly which scenario applied in a specific situation and act accordingly.

“They are detailed because we want to be transparent around risk assessment,” she said.

“We are trying to be as transparent as possible to provide specific matrixes around specific workplaces.”

Dr Kirkpatrick said rules for critical services would help ensure minimal disruption while ensuring safety in the event of a contact situation. A casual contact could be back at work in as little as two days, with safeguards.

The plan for “Critical Services and Infrastructure” has 26 scenarios to assess risk depending on whether the person is vaccinated or unvaccinated, length of contact, if the contact was inside or outside, floorspace if inside, if masks were being worn and other factors.

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Areas covered by this plan include:

DEFENCE

ESSENTIAL infrastructure work sites (ie, energy services, water services, food manufacturing and distribution, excluding meat processing facilities)

EMERGENCY services such as SAPOL, State Emergency Services, fire services (excluding employees who work in Covid red zones)

VETERINARY services and AGRICULTURE

The plan says that workers are potentially contacts if they are exposed to a Covid case during the person’s infectious period.

“If you determine that your worker/s did not come into contact with the case during their infectious period, they are not a contact and no further action is required,” it states.

“If you determine that your worker/s did come into contact with the case during their infectious period, continue to step B.

“Determine the duration of time the case and the contact were together. Time periods are cumulative across a period of one day, eg, two separate 10-minute exposures should be assessed as a “prolonged” (>15 min) exposure.

“Determine the proximity of contact. Determine the distance between the case and the contact.”

Premises will not be required to close unless advised by SA Health; or if cleaning cannot occur outside of business hours; or if the business decides there is insufficient staff available to keep the business open.

Dr Emily Kirkpatrick, deputy chief public health officer, has explained the rules for critical services when Covid comes to SA. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

A separate plan has been released for “essential businesses and venues”. Industries included are:

ACCOMMODATION including caravan, camping, backpackers, hotel and hostels

OFFICE environments

CONSTRUCTION and trade

TRANSPORT freight and logistics

SUPERMARKETS

SERVICE stations

PUBLIC transport including buses, trains, trams, taxis, ride share services

END-of-life services including funeral homes, crematoria

These have 17 scenarios for assessing the risk.

Originally published as SA Health’s plan for water, power, supermarkets as Covid arrives