Under the new Omicron response plan, the government has updated the definition of close contacts, this means that even if you have visited a workplace, business, or venue that becomes a location of interest, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are considered a close contact.
This is in recognition of the many other protections that are in place, including high vaccination rates in our population. In hospitality other protections include mask wearing (for staff and customers), physical distancing, vaccine passes, scanning in.
People designated as a Casual Contact are not required to be notified to public health and do not require to isolate.
To be a close contact you have to have been close (within 1.5 metres) to someone who is positive:
- for more than 15 minutes and
- they were not wearing a mask or not wearing it properly.
or if you have had direct contact with someone who is positive. For example:
- kissing
- sharing a cigarette, vape or drink bottle
- if the person coughed or sneezed directly on you.
or if you spent time in an indoor space with someone who is positive for more than 1 hour and at least one of the following:
- they were singing, shouting, smoking, vaping, exercising, or dancing
- they were not wearing a mask or it was not on properly
- it was poorly ventilated
- it was smaller than 100m2 (about 3 double garages).
You can find more information here about close contacts here.