Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a national definition of a COVID-19 close contact. The new definition has been agreed upon in a National Cabinet today (Thursday 30 December).
- A close contact will be considered as a person who is a household contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case, or someone who has spent more than four hours with a confirmed case in a house, accommodation or care facility setting, except in exceptional circumstances.
- If a person is considered a close contact, they must take a rapid antigen test (RAT) even if asymptomatic.
- If the result of the RAT test is negative, they must continue to self-isolate for seven days from their date of exposure to the person who is a confirmed case and take another RAT test on day six.
- If the result of the RAT test is positive they need to take a PCR test.
- If a person is symptomatic, they must receive a PCR test and continue to self-isolate for seven days.
- The new definition comes into effect at midnight today in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and ACT.
- The new rules will also apply to people currently in isolation, according to the Prime Minister.
- Tasmania will follow on January 1, Northern Territory and Western Australia will be making announcements over the next few days.
- South Australia will embrace the change in the definition of close contact but maintains the 10-day isolation period rather than the 7-day applied by other States and Territories.
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