Back in March 2020, we wrote about COVID and here we are again, but things have changed. Now we have the new Delta Variant which is more infectious but not impossible for us to deal with.

In an ideal world, most of us would have been vaccinated by now. We will not go there but instead deal with the hand we have been dealt and try to assist you to be informed. To achieve that, we have included more links than we usually do in our articles.

Our aim is to provide you with a guide to being safe and using the messaging in an effective manner.

All Australians are getting daily reports relating to COVID and the latest lockdown.

The State government has a summary page that you can access here.  The government has also produced a useful toolkit which you can avail yourselves of and to which I provide a link later.

The Federal government COVID health alert site is also helpful and covers all state and territories.  You can access that here.

COVID Messaging

The messaging and advice can at times seem overwhelming and confusing.

COVID is a predatory and unforgiving health hazard. It knows no boundaries; it is normal to be frightened and concerned. It affects everyone rich or poor, it is not selective and is extremely dangerous not just to you but to your family, friends, and our fellow population. No reasonable thinking person wants COVID nor to spread it. There are things one can do minimize being infected.

Advice from Various Statutory Authorities

1. Stay at Home
2. Socially Distance and other useful posters can be downloaded here
3. Get Tested (EVEN IF SYMPTONS SEEM MILD). You can locate our nearest testing clinic here
4. Get vaccinated. Book your appointment here

Lockdown

Lockdown is painful, both emotionally and economically, but being struck down with COVID has worse physical, emotional, and economic effects. We can be thankful we are generally less vulnerable than others such as frontline professionals and workers, including the homeless who live on the street or citizens of other countries near Australia where there are thousands affected and dying on a daily basis.

If you find you are not coping emotionally you may find helpful the information published by the World Health Organisation here as it puts a lot of things in perspective.

Closer to home, the Black Dog Institute is helpful for those of us suffering emotionally through these difficult and uncertain times.  See their page in relation to your mental health check-in for lockdown here

I am grateful we have wonderful medical facilities and available assistance from our doctors, nurses and first responders who expose themselves daily to risk to look after us. Some of them live in strata schemes and company title buildings. If you have some of these wonderful people in your building, show them your appreciation for what they selflessly do for us and imagine the stress they undergo daily.

Staying home temporarily in lockdown is, in relative terms, not a big ask. To find out the do’s and don’ts about staying home and some general information please refer here

New Rules

For the latest rules about Greater Sydney and other NSW restrictions, refer to the NSW Government page here

The new rules today are the old tomorrow, so keep an eye out for changes. COVID effects and treatment remain relatively new, so we have to accept that rules and advice change but gain comfort that change usually means research is ongoing and the advice is getting better and clearer. For that we need to be grateful. Think how you would feel if there was no available advice, as is the situation in poorer countries with less expert medical and scientific resources

Public Health Orders

You will find NSW Public Health Orders here

Strata Schemes and Company Title Residences

Committees and boards in some strata schemes and company title properties we manage have determined they want to put in place a COVID Plan. If you want a plan, it should be tailored to meet the needs of your building.

NSW Fair Trading has created a web page explaining how the government ‘s COVID-19 Public Health Orders are helping keep safe in strata environments. Some of the information is not up to date but some is applicable.

As things are changing, almost daily, it is recommended that committees and boards keep abreast of these changes and, where necessary, be ready to update their plans. The links we provide are designed to assist in that process.

NSW Fair Trading has created a toolkit for Strata Schemes & Building Managers, relating to the Governments’ COVID-19 Public health Orders, designed as a guide to keep strata and community environments safe. There is no silver bullet, however we recommend a conservative approach to creating a plan.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Creating a Covid Plan Whether a Strata Scheme or Company Title Building

If you want to create a plan, here are some thoughts that may assist you:

• If your scheme or company has its own website, consider adding your COVID plan on your site.
• If you do not have a website, or in addition to having a website, display your plan on your Notice board and email, post or deliver the plan to owners and residents.
• Set out in the plan particulars of the environmental risks for not being compliant.
• Review maintenance of equipment e.g. lifts and air-conditioning etc.
• Any public utilities in your building need to be maintained more than before.
• Re-examine cleaning and waste management.
• Clarify your requirements with your cleaners for cleaning during COVID.
• You may be confronted with owners or shareholders suffering from financial hardship and thought should be given to guidelines to consider and provide temporary financial relief, including waiving interest for late payments.
• Consideration may need to be given relating to deferring special levies.
• Wearing masks in common areas is mandatory. Signage should be displayed and, where applicable, published in different languages
• Strata schemes and company title buildings may register for a QR code for use by non-residents with posters and signage available to be printed and displayed in your building
• Hand sanitisers are recommend to be installed in common areas at entrances and by lifts and/or stairs. Signage is also available in relation to this.
• Meetings, as has been done in the recent past, should comply with the lockdown rules. See the link to the current legislation.
• Notices may be given by email and there are new rules for applying the seal. See the link to the current legislation.
• There are no public health orders that are specifically designed to deal with swimming pools in strata or company title blocks. You may get some ideas from the Swimming NSW here, though their advice is for clubs.
• Similarly, advice relating to gyms relates to commercial gyms and indoor recreation areas but the advice provided may be helpful in developing a COVID plan relevant to gyms in strata and company tile blocks. This link should be used as a guide when developing your plan.
• It is recommended, if you have a building manager, that the manager be requested to assist with the drafting of the COVID plan relating to the management of the building services in so far as they have control of these contractors and services due to their familiarity of the site.
• The committee could hold zoom meetings to brainstorm and develop a plan.

If you want our assistance in developing a plan suitable to your building, let us know and if as we mentioned you have a building manger, we will also work with them.

We wish all our clients and residents good health and safe community living.