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| COVID-19: Update from WALGA President and CEO
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| IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
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In this issue...
Quick Links
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| COVID-19 Directions Update
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| Updated COVID-19 Directions have been issued by the State Emergency Coordinator.
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Stay at Home and Closure (Perth, Peel and South West Regions) Directions (No.2) provides clarification and modification to some elements of the original directions, first issued on the evening of Sunday, 31 January.
Updates to the directions include the following:
- Prohibiting a person from leaving their home if they have symptoms - except to get tested and to get urgent medical treatment.
- Prohibiting visitors into the home - with certain exceptions.
- Allow a person to enter the affected area in accordance with Controlled Border for WA Direction or a specified arrangement.
- To allow a person to transit through the affected area for certain reasons, including leaving the State.
- To ensure that a person who leaves the affected area must comply with the Face Covering Directions when they leave.
- Expands the number of children who can exercise with two adults.
- To make plain that pubs, bars and hotels can serve takeaway food and alcohol.
- To amend the list of essential services/providers.
Closure and Restriction (Limit the Spread) Directions (No. 12) in effect from Tuesday, 2 February expands the list of establishments required to request contact information. These directions expand the list of places where an occupier or person apparently in charge of the place is required to request contact information of people who enter the place.
Additional businesses include:
- retail venues including:
- supermarkets
- department stores
- shopping centres
- pharmacies
- hardware
- retail components of other businesses where customers are physically present such as bank branches.
- commercial buses or vessels that can carry 12 or more people where different groups of people interact
- public and private hospitals (visitors only - persons visiting patients, or attending meetings/lectures, couriers, and contractors)
- takeaway food and beverage services, and
- events with a COVID Event Plan (500+ patrons), and certain outdoor functions and gatherings under 500 people (e.g. weddings, corporate functions, fetes, festivals).
Businesses already using their own QR code for registration are required to also clearly display the WA Government’s SafeWA QR code.
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| For more information visit the wa.gov.au website, or the HealthyWA website.
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| Essential Worker Travel
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| Local Government employees deemed by the Council CEO to be essential workers and are required to travel, should carry a letter of support signed by their CEO indicating that they perform an essential role/service at the Shire/Town/City along with their ID to provide to police when requested.
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Employees that will be travelling across regional borders should apply for a G2G Pass using the letter of support as a supporting document in their application. This will give them a QR code to present when crossing a regional border. They should still carry their letter and ID.
The G2G Pass is now activated to process applications to enable such approved travel across regions.
People cannot travel across regions within WA if they have COVID-19 or symptoms.
Police will continue to conduct random stops and checkpoint activities to check the validity of travel.
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| Mask Ordering Update
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| Given the urgency of the current situation, Local Governments are now able to order masks from the Department of Finance’s (Finance) Procurement team in two ways.
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- Through the existing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) ordering process for longer term orders, or
- For urgent orders, through Finance’s mask order email address mask.enquiries@finance.wa.gov.au
In April 2020, Finance was named as the central conduit to report stock levels and lodge requests for PPE for public sector agencies, to ensure a consistent supply of PPE to public sector agencies throughout WA’s State of Emergency. Since then Local Governments have been invited to report on their current and forecasted levels of PPE, and order PPE, through Finance. This process is conducted fortnightly, through direct emails from Finance to a nominated contact at each Local Government.
In late 2020 the State Emergency Coordinator requested that all agencies, including Local Governments, continue to report on their levels of PPE to ensure the State Emergency Directorate’s awareness of PPE levels across Western Australia.
Local Governments are welcome to order masks through the Department of Finance ordering Process. As this process may take one to two weeks, a process for urgent mask orders has also been initiated by Finance.
Local Governments can place urgent orders for masks with Finance at mask.enquiries@finance.wa.gov.au or call 6551 1341. Once orders are placed they will be dispatched by courier, or they can be collected from Stewart and Heaton in Belmont.
For more information on the PPE Stocktake and Ordering Process, email Finance at GPBusinessAnalysis@finance.wa.gov.au
More information on how different organisations may access PPE is available here.
Information on using masks is available at the Healthy WA website.
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| Public Toilets to Remain Open During Lockdown
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| WALGA has been contacted by a number of Local Governments who had been advised to close their public toilets.
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| WALGA has confirmed with WA Police and the Department of Health that public toilets are to remain open.
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| Video and Poster on Lockdown and Mask Information
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| The State Government has produced a 15-second video on the lockdown and poster on mask wearing.
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| Local Governments are encouraged to utilise these on their own websites and social media. The materials can be found here:
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| Support for Local Business during Lockdown
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| To help support local businesses adversely affected by the lockdown, Local Governments are encouraged to share a suite of available resources.
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Small Business Development Corporation and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA are helping businesses to understand the situation by providing:
- answers to frequently asked questions
- information on the “stay at home” and “face coverings” directions, and
- other COVID-19 related content, including a breakdown of businesses that can and can’t open, and mandatory contact registers.
These resources can be found at:
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| WALGA
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ONE70, LV1, 170 Railway Parade,
West Leederville, WA 6007
PO Box 1544, West Perth, WA 6872
Tel: (08) 9213 2000 | Fax: (08) 9213 2077
Email: covid@walga.asn.au
www.walga.asn.au
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| © Copyright Western Australian Local Government Association 2014
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