Employees in the food logistics, manufacturing, transport, postal and warehousing sectors will be able to leave quarantine to attend work if they have no symptoms.NSW Health announced the new rules on Sunday morning after chief health officer Kerry Chant signed off on the changes. In a statement, the health department said workers would only be eligible to leave self-isolation if their employer determines their absence poses a high risk of disruption to the delivery of critical services or activities.These workers must be unable to work from home, must wear a mask and comply with risk-management strategies put in place by their employer, including daily Rapid Antigen Tests.Any worker who tests positive or who develops symptoms of Covid-19 must self-isolate. The health department said the exemption from isolation rules for close contacts would also apply to critical emergency services employees who can’t work from home.Prime Minister Scott Morrison had already tightened the definition of close contacts in a bid to reduce the pressure on workplaces caused by staff having to quarantine.Following a meeting with state and territory leaders at national cabinet, the Prime Minister said people would only be considered close contacts if they lived in the same house as someone with Covid-19 or spent more than four hours with them.People who are deemed close contacts must isolate for seven days – 10 days in South Australia – from the last time they were in contact with that person.National cabinet will meet again this week where workforce shortages and furloughing pressures will be discussed.Australia’s Omicron-fuelled coronavirus wave, which passed 500,000 active cases on Sunday, has caused supply chain issues across the country as essential workers have to isolate.Other jurisdictions may follow NSW in relaxing quarantine requirements for critical workers.The Australian newspaper reported on Saturday that supermarket and retail chiefs met to urge government leaders to ease isolation requirements for critical workers and provide free rapid antigen tests for the food and grocery workforce.Australian Food and Grocery council chief executive Tanya Barden told the newspaper manufacturers in the sector were more concerned about the workforce impacts than at any point in the last two years.“We are trying to be measured. We need to keep health and safety mechanisms in place, but we need to get people back to work quicker and in a safe way,” she said.Workforce shortages are biting many sectors, with childcare centres, health care, aged care and hospitality venues all badly affected.NSW had already begun allowing asymptomatic healthcare workers who were close contacts to return to work as hospitals in the state struggle through the Omicron wave.
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