COVID-19 Response

Barkuma's Response to Coronavirus - 25 March 2020

Barkuma's priority is to continue to provide services and support to our clients, their families and our employers and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of you, our staff and our volunteers.

At this time there has not been any confirmed COVID-19 cases within Barkuma and our sites and services are open at this time and continue to operate. Barkuma remains in the Protect phase of our Pandemic Influenza and Contingency Management Plan.

We continue with the measures we have already put in place with increased infection control processes, continued training and communication to all staff and are constantly updating our response plans as the situation evolves.

The number of employees in our factories has significantly reduced as they have chosen to self-isolate. With the likelihood of further restrictions we have now introduced a number of other measures including:

• temperature checking for all employees attending work places
• social distancing boundaries in the workplace
• staggered and separated lunch breaks
• number of staff who are now working from home
• use of leave entitlements for employees choosing not to work
• following all government rules including self-isolating for employees and visitors who have travelled interstate/overseas
• ceased all non-essential meetings and visitors
• trialing the use of technology to deliver SLES and Transition program training in the future

I would like to reinforce that employees and visitors cannot work and visit Barkuma sites and accommodation if they are sick with cold, cough or fever, and/or it is known that you have been in contact with a person who has Coronavirus. Employees must provide a clearance to work from their Doctor before they come back to work.

Barkuma will continue to provide updates in line with the recommendations of both State and Federal Health Systems. You can keep up to date on how it impacts you by accessing the following sites:

• Australian Government Department of Health
• SA Health
• National Disability Insurance Agency
• Department of Social Services

Yours sincerely,

Maureen Lawlor

Acting CEO