THE ACT has adopted a nationally agreed definition and quarantine requirements for COVID-19 close contacts and isolation requirements for people who have tested positive, ACT Health confirmed today (December 31).

It says that a close contact is household contact (or household-like contact) of a confirmed COVID-19 case who usually lives with or has stayed in a house, accommodation or care facility with someone during their infectious period.

“All close contacts, including unvaccinated individuals, must quarantine for seven days from their date of exposure and have received  a negative result from their day one and day six Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) to leave quarantine. If a RAT is not available, a PCR test should be undertaken,” ACT Health says.

“Close contacts should still stay out of high-risk settings, like hospitals and aged care facilities, for another seven days unless they are seeking urgent medical care or have prior approval.

 “A confirmed COVID-19 case must isolate for seven days from the date their test was collected. Anyone who is currently in isolation as a confirmed case of COVID-19 from a test collected on or before December 23 can now leave. Clearance paperwork will follow.

“ACT Health is currently updating its systems to reflect these changes.

“Unvaccinated close contacts may still receive automated messages from ACT Health while these changes take effect. Please disregard the advice.”

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