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COVID-19 home monitoring program to conclude

10 November 2022

Western Australia’s COVID-19 home monitoring program WA COVID Care at Home will come to an end on 31 December 2022, with the last intake of patients occurring on Wednesday, 30 November 2022.

WA Health established WA COVID Care at Home on 31 January 2022 to provide home monitoring care for COVID-positive patients considered at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 due to medical and social factors and reduce unnecessary hospital presentations.

The state now has stronger protection against serious illness from COVID-19 due to very high vaccination levels, prior infection, access to antiviral treatments and enhanced medical and public understanding about how to manage the risks.

WA COVID Care at Home successfully monitored more than 17,000 Western Australians while minimising COVID-19 admissions to hospital emergency departments, with less than 4% of patients in the program requiring escalation to hospital.

With the recent end of WA’s State of Emergency powers, the conclusion of the program aligns with the state’s transition to manage COVID-19 through sustainable public health measures, vaccination and targeted testing processes.

These will be supported by strong public health messaging by WA Health for people to:

• stay home and get tested if you have COVID-like symptoms
• register your positive rapid antigen test (RAT) result on HealthyWA
• stay up to date with vaccinations
• wear a mask if you can’t physically distance from other people
• wash or sanitise hands regularly

WA Health strongly encourages people at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19 to plan ahead and consult their GP or specialist for advice on their eligibility for COVID-19 prescription treatments (antiviral medications) and development of a care plan to follow if they get COVID-19.

At-risk people should consult their GP immediately after testing positive for COVID-19 because they may be eligible for antiviral treatments, which need to be taken within 5 days of symptom onset. These anti-viral medications can’t be prescribed until you test positive for COVID-19.