Please see below an important update from Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Latailakepa. As a precautionary measure, we made the decision to postpone our scheduled Close the Gap morning teas earlier this week and have closed our Emerald House Drop-in Centre and Preloved Homewares Op Shop for the foreseeable future. Outside of this closure, I would just like to reaffirm that it is ‘business’ as usual for us, with our three offices across both Queensland and New South Wales remaining open to best serve the people we support. We are committed to continuing our delivery of supports and are taking proactive measures to protect the health and safety of our wonderful team.
While none of this means we need to panic, it does mean we need to respond responsibly in line with government and medical advice and begin planning for a potential worsening of the situation. We urge you to stay vigilant. Please do not attend our site or services if you are showing signs of a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever or difficulty breathing or have recently returned from overseas. Please wash your hands thoroughly when you enter one of our sites.
If you are concerned that you or your loved one may be infected:
The National 24/7 Hotline triages people with respiratory symptoms and those who are concerned about contact with a possible Coronavirus case. If you think you may be infected, you can call the triage hotline on 1800 020 080.
Suspected Coronavirus patients can present in person to a GP clinic, a dedicated respiratory clinic or to a hospital ED if they call ahead.
Please notify us ASAP.
What are the next steps?
We are meeting regularly with senior executives and our Board of Directors to discuss the current health advice and the impact on our service.
As always, you should feel free to call your key contact person within the organisation if you have any concerns about yourself and/or your loved one of the service.
We will be continuing to monitor the information provided by the government to ensure the best response in keeping people safe and infection free.
We need to acknowledge that at some point, this may mean our services might need to reduce.
We are however working on robust contingency plans to reduce the impact if any of you might experience a reduction in supports.
We will continue to keep you informed and provide as much information as possible.
Michelle Latailakepa Chief Executive Officer