COVID-19 Update for Early Childhood

Please note the following important information in relation to changed COVID-19 requirements and advice.

COVID-19 isolation requirements have changed

The Victorian Government has announced the end of the Pandemic Declaration and associated Pandemic Orders. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services remain responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of all children in their services. Services should continue to apply their COVIDSafe practices and policies and take reasonable steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within their service. The following settings, based on advice from the Department of Health, will apply from 11.59pm Wednesday 12 October 2022. It is strongly recommended that children:

• who test positive to COVID-19 should stay home and isolate for 5 days

• should not attend ECEC services after 5 days if still symptomatic

• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend ECEC services.

Parents and carers should advise the service of the child’s COVID-19 positive test result. Where children become symptomatic at an ECEC service they should:

• be collected by their parents or carers

• undergo testing for COVID-19.

It is strongly recommended that staff:

• who test positive to COVID-19 stay home and isolate for 5 days

• should not attend after 5 days if still symptomatic

• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend the service

• advise their service of the positive test.

COVID-19 reporting requirements

The Department of Health recommends that a person who tests positive for COVID-19 should inform those with whom they have recently been in contact, including their workplace, ECEC service or school, and household. In line with the approach to other infectious diseases in early childhood services, if COVID-19 is identified, the service should continue to notify parents or an authorised emergency contact of children at the service (or family day care (FDC) residence or venue of the occurrence) as soon as practicable. In addition, services are recommended to display a notice stating that there has been a positive case of COVID-19 at the service premises, FDC residence or approved venue. Services should now notify the department through the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQAITS) only if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 in the service (5 or more cases within a 7-day period) or if the service is to be closed.

Face masks

The Department of Health recommends that masks should be worn by a person who is a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 when leaving home.

Additionally, the Department of Health recommends that masks should be worn by a person who has COVID-19, for at least 7 days after a positive test, when they need to leave home. The ECEC COVIDSafe Setting Guide and web pages reflecting these changes will be updated in the coming days.