Helping tommorow
What is a Coronavirus (COVID-19)
COVID-19 Symptoms
COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalisation.
- sore throat
- headache
- aches and pains
- diarrhoea
- a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes
- red or irritated eyes
- difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- loss of speech or mobility, or confusion
- chest pain
COVID-19
What to do if you test positive to COVID-19
Step 1: Focus on your health and get help if you need it
Vaccinations provide good protection against COVID-19 and mean that most people will be able to recover at home.
Managing COVID-19 at home when you have milder symptoms is safe and appropriate, and ensures hospital beds are kept free for people who are seriously unwell and need urgent medical treatment.
- For mild symptoms: rest and recover at home.
- For worsening symptoms: contact a GP, GP Respiratory or the National Coronavirus on 1800 020 080 – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- For severe symptoms: get immediate help and call Triple Zero (000) if it’s urgent.
When you are at home with COVID-19 you may be contacted by a healthcare worker from the COVID Positive Pathways program to check you have the support you need or call us
Somali Women’s Development Association Inc. Emergency Food Relief on 03 85967651 or email us admin@swdai.org.au
COVID-19 medicines are now available for eligible Victorians who have COVID-19 to prevent them from getting sick and needing hospital care. To see if you may be eligible and for more information, visit COVID-19 medicines.
Step 2: Report your result and immediately isolate for 7 days
If you tested positive using a rapid antigen test, you must report your result to the Department of Health online, or call 1800 675 398.
You don’t need to report your result if you tested positive from a PCR test. However, it is recommended to fill out the survey you receive via SMS from the Department. Read Reporting your result for more information.
You must isolate for 7 days from the date you took your positive rapid antigen test or PCR test.
You can’t leave your house for any reason except to:
get tested
medical care or medical supplies
in an emergency (including fire or flood)
escape the risk of harm (including family violence)
transport a household member to attend work, education or a health appointment, and/or to obtain essential food supplies. You must travel directly to and from the location, wear a face mask and not leave the vehicle unless you are required to take that person to the location, it is an emergency or it is required by law.
- Isolate away from the other people in your household as much as possible, to reduce the risk of them getting COVID-19. See more information on how to isolate effectively at home.
- Financial support and food are available. You and your family may be eligible. See more information about the support you can get.
You do not need to get tested again to be released from isolation after 7 days. You are automatically released at this point.
If you have recovered from COVID-19, you aren’t required to get tested or isolate if you are re-exposed to a case within 4 weeks of ending your isolation period. After 4 weeks, you must follow the relevant advice depending on the type of contact you are.
Step 3: Tell your household contacts – there are steps they must take
If you test positive for COVID-19, you must tell your household contacts as soon as you can. The Department will not do this for you.
Your household contacts (also known as close contacts) are:
- people who you have spent 4 or more hours within a house, care facility or accommodation while you were infectious.
Step 4: Tell your ‘social and workplace contacts’ to get tested if they have symptoms
If you test positive to COVID-19, you must tell the social and workplace contacts who you spent time with while you were infectious. This includes colleagues at work. You may also inform people at a school or other education facility.
If they have symptoms of COVID-19, they must get tested. If they don’t have symptoms, they are strongly recommended to use rapid antigen tests every day for 5 days. You can access free rapid antigen tests at testing centres.
Your social and workplace contacts are:
- people you know (including people you worked alongside at a workplace) who you spent 15 minutes with face to face, or more than 2 hours with in the same indoor space, while you were infectious.
- household contacts follow different rules and are not your social contacts. Contacts from your work or your education facility will be informed by the workplace and education facility
Step 5: Tell your workplace and/or education facility
Workplace:
You must tell your employer/workplace if you worked onsite while infectious.
As a general notice, the workplace will advise all staff that someone was infectious at work – but the workplace will not identify your contacts for you and inform them individually.
That’s why you are also required to tell the workers who you came into contact with at work.
Education facility:
An education facility is a school, childcare centre, early childhood education centre or school boarding house.
You must tell your (or your child’s) education facility if you or your child attended while infectious with COVID-19.
Do this as soon as you can after the positive test.
As a general notice, the education facility operator will advise staff and students (and/or their parents, guardians or carers) that someone infectious attended
Ending isolation and recovering long-term
You may still feel the impacts of your COVID-19 infection after your 7 day isolation period has finished.
Following the below advice will help you protect yourself and others as you leave isolation and recovery long-term
.
24/7 Coronavirus Hotline
If you suspect you may have COVID-19 call the dedicated hotline – open 24 hours, 7 days. The COVIDSafe Information hotline diverts to the national hotline every day from 8pm to 8am.
Call on 1800 675 398
Please keep Triple Zero (000) for emergencies only.
Free Masks To Keep Victorians Safe This
Our Somali Australian Community, Partners, Staff and Volunteers
Victoria State Government provides free N95 and KN95 masks to protect some of the most vulnerable members of our community and help reduce transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.
The Victorian Government has announced that more than three million masks will be handed out to the community through our state-run testing sites, community health services across Victoria and across the public transport network.
Wearing a face mask can help protect you, those around you. Face masks can stop viruses spreading in the air when people talk, cough, sneeze and laugh, which lowers the chance of spreading or catching COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.
Wearing a mask is strongly recommended if you are in an indoor setting, can’t physically distance, have any COVID-19 symptoms, or are with people who may be vulnerable to COVID-19. Masks are still mandatory in high-risk settings including hospitals, aged care and on public transport.
How to use a face mask
Here’s how to use your face mask:
- Wash your hands before touching the mask.
- The mask should comfortably and snugly cover your mouth, nose and chin.
- Adjust the mask so there are no air gaps on the side.
- Avoid touching the mask while it is on.
- Replace the masks when it gets wet or dirty, or when the straps are stretched so that the mask no longer fits snugly against your face. Dispose into waste bin after use.
- Wash your hands after removing the mask.
Children and face masks
School-aged children are strongly encouraged to wear face masks indoors in a public space or outside in a crowded place where they can’t physically distance.
Children aged 2 years or younger should not wear a mask, because it is a choking and suffocation risk.
Children aged 8 and over must wear a mask on public transport, taxis, ride shares, in sensitive setting such as hospitals and care facilities, and if they are a close contact in an indoor space outside the home.
Children aged 12 years and over must also wear a mask on an aircraft.
Stay safe,
Somali Women Development Association Inc.