Aged care residents should be allowed daily visits under a new approach to managing COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes, the federal Health Minister has said.
Elderly and vulnerable Australians have spent weeks locked in their rooms and denied visits from relatives as outbreaks have forced homes into complete lockdown during the Omicron surge.
The national cabinet on Thursday endorsed new advice aimed at keeping homes open, including for family visits.
But the advice won't trigger major changes in the ACT, with territory Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith saying it was "very similar" to the approach already in place in the capital.
The new advice, prepared by the nation's panel of chief health officers, was designed to balance the use of infection control measures with a resident's "right to live their life with minimal restrictions".
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Friday said that instead of full lockdowns, "zones" or "cohorting" could be used within homes to manage outbreaks. Mr Hunt said that under the new "nuanced" approach, aged care residents should be allowed daily visits even when cases were detected.
"That's our human requirement. We want every resident every day to be able to have at least one visitor. And I think that's extremely important," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Hunt cautioned that the new approach might have to be "dialled back" during large outbreaks.
"But more generally, the real goal is to open up as much as possible," he said.
Under ACT Health guidance, visitors have been allowed into aged care homes during coronavirus outbreaks - but only for essential reasons.
Those reasons included being with a dying relative, and providing personal care or mental health support, including to a relative with dementia. All visitors have had to wear personal protective equipment.
The Canberra Times last week reported that a relative was denied permission to visit her elderly mother at one of Canberra's coronavirus-stricken homes after she suffered a fall.
Asked about the new guidance on Friday, Ms Stephen-Smith maintained that Mr Hunt's advice was "actually very similar" to the existing guidance for aged care homes in Canberra.
"Our public health advice to residential aged care facilities at the moment encourages the capacity for those essential visits to continue, with of course some requirements in place," she said.
The Canberra Times sought clarification from Ms Stephen-Smith's office about the ACT's response to the new guidance, but has not yet heard back.
A coalition of peak aged care organisations welcomed the new guidance, which they believed struck the balance between the risk of infection and the "essential emotional and physical care provided to residents by their loved ones".
"These principles set out a new way forward that respects the dignity of Australians receiving aged care while managing public health risks," Council on the Ageing Australia chief executive Ian Yates said.
