COVID Bulletin - 23 November 2021

These bulletins contain the latest updates on COVID-19 and the national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia.

These updates are current as at 10.47‌ am on Tuesday 23 November 2021.

The RACGP’s COVID-19 vaccine information for GPs and COVID-19 information for GPs webpages are updated as new information becomes available.

Updated resource: Home-care guidelines for patients with COVID-19

The RACGP has published updated Home-care guidelines for patients with COVID-19.

These updated guidelines contain information for GPs providing home-based care in a private residential home (including public or community housing), residential aged care facilities and supported accommodation for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and who are not deemed high risk for severe disease or hospitalisation.

The guidelines include advice and information on:

• supporting patients through a COVID-19 diagnosis
• determining medical and social risk factors and disease severity
• determining home-care suitability and the appropriate monitoring protocol
• escalating care when necessary.

A guide, action plan and symptom diary is also available to share with your patients, noting it is currently being updated (the updated version will be available in early December 2021).

     Read the guide           Access all RACGP COVID-19 resources     

COVID-19 vaccinations through general practice

As of 20 November 2021, 38,431,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Australia, 19,500,698 of which were administered through general practice, equating to 51% of all vaccines administered.

Webinar: COVID-19 vaccination rollout – Supporting diverse communities and vaccines for children

Join our webinar series on the unique challenges being faced in the COVID vaccine rollout.

This first webinar will address the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and help you engage with culturally and linguistically diverse patients. It will also cover:

• vaccinating children
• discussing vaccine evidence
• addressing parent hesitancy
• handling challenges of vaccination in people with cognitive disabilities.

    Register now            See all webinars in the series     

• As of 22 November 2021, 93% of Victorians aged 16 and over have now had their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 89.2% are fully vaccinated.
• You can find full details of recent cases numbers and hospitalisations in the Victorian Department of Health interactive daily report.
• All restrictions lifted for fully vaccinated people across the state on 19 November 2021, including changes to self-quarantine obligations for COVID-positive cases and fully vaccinated close contacts of cases. You can find more information on the changes on the Premier's website.

Updated contact management guidance for healthcare workers

The Contact assessment and management guidance: Primary care, community-based healthcare and emergency services has been updated to reflect changes to the Chief Health Officer's Directions that came into effect at midnight on 19 November 2021.

Under the updated guidance, quarantine for workplace contacts is no longer required and has been replaced by a negative PCR and surveillance testing via rapid antigen testing.

Please make sure you are referring to the current version of the guidelines because these will continue to be adjusted as required in line with the COVID-19 epidemiology and public health response in Victoria.