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Published: Friday, 20 March 2020 14:02

Dear tenant community: The situation concerning the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in Australia and across the world is rapidly changing. During this uncertain time, the health and wellbeing of you and our staff is our highest priority.

What we are doing

In the coming weeks, we will be updating tenants via social media, tenant newsletters, phone and email on how this impacts our services to you. 

At Bridge Housing, we have introduced some precautionary measures to limit your and our staff exposure to the virus. 

Our Head Office in Goulburn Street and Northern Beaches Office in Brookvale will remain open for normal office hours. Our outreach services at Bondi Junction, South Coogee and Glebe will temporarily close, in order to reduce opportunities for the virus to be transmitted.

Current Bridge Housing Service Delivery Guidelines:

  • Staff have been asked to minimise physical contact with others including maintaining a distance of 1.5 metres and cease physical greetings, such as handshakes.
  • Prior to any home visits or meetings in the office, staff will check with you that no-one in your household is ill with flu-like symptoms or has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. If you or a family member is ill, we will reschedule the appointment for two weeks later.
  • Property inspections will be postponed, unless required for a safety reason. If we need to attend your home we will give you the option to stay outside while the inspection is taking place to ensure that the 1.5m rule is adhered to at all times.
  • We will advise our maintenance contractors if we are aware a tenant has been exposed to the coronavirus to avoid their attendance at the property in all but emergency cases
  • Wherever possible, we will seek to conduct meetings by phone or, where possible, by video conference
  • Over the coming weeks we will conduct a wellbeing check on the phone with our elderly tenants over 80 years of age or 65 for Aboriginal residents
  • As a precaution, block meetings and other tenant and community events run by Bridge Housing are postponed until further notice.

We are monitoring the situation continuously and will keep you updated on any changes that impact our services to you.

What you should do

HealthIconEnsure you maintain good hygiene at all times by ensuring you:

If you develop a fever, a cough, sore throat or shortness of breath within 14 days of overseas travel, seek medical attention. Call your GP, visit the emergency department or call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222.

Remember to check https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Pages/coronavirus.aspx for the most up to date information.

If you have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, please let us know by calling or emailing your housing manager. This will ensure we can advise staff and contractors and help to contain the spread of the virus.

If you are concerned about your wellbeing or the wellbeing of your neighbours, please let us know immediately by contacting your housing manager on 8324 0885.

Please tell any family members or friends who speak a community language that they can access information on our website using the Google Translate function on the home page and visiting Tenants/Support & Assistance/Bridge Housing's response to COVID19.

Thank you for helping us to keep our community safe.

Photo: Elizaveta Dankevich at Unsplash

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