As at 12.00 am 16th March 2020 all people returning from international travel must self-isolate for 14 days after the date of return to Australia regardless of whether you are displaying flu-like symptoms or not.

We are requesting our therapists to confirm your travel status and postpone and rescheduled therapy for clients that have returned from International travel until the mandatory 14 days isolation period has passed.

The Government has also issued instructions for the public to immediately self isolate and be tested for COVID-19 if they develop flu-like symptoms and had possible exposure to the virus or been in direct contact with another person that has a confirmed case of COVID-19. In response to this advice Down South Therapy are managing this in two ways;

1. Requesting our therapists not to attend work if they develop flu-like symptoms and attend a Doctor for professional advice, we are asking them to take advice from the consulting Doctor to either return to work or self-isolate.
2. Requesting our therapists to confirm/ book the session with our clients as per usual practice and then send another ‘Health check’ within 24 hours of the session.

We are asking you to respond to this health check if you or your child are experiencing flu-like symptoms or start to experience symptoms before the session. If you are or do start to develop flu-like symptoms, we request that you make arrangements with your therapist to postpone the session until the symptoms have passed, a doctor has determined no or low risk or COVID-19 or (if needed) a negative COVID-19 test result has been obtained.

If you have initially confirmed the session with the therapist, we are advising our therapists to attend the session without a response to the ‘Health check’. If you or your child attend the session and are displaying flu-like symptoms without notification being given to the therapist, the therapist may cancel the session, and a cancellation fee may apply.

Down South Therapy is acting in accordance with Government advice and taking extra precautionary measures to protect our more vulnerable clients. It is essential to stay alert and safe but not alarmed, at this stage the risk of transmission in Western Australia is low and most people presenting with flu-like symptoms are likely to have a cold or seasonal flu, not COVID-19.

Down South Therapy staff utilise the highest levels of personal hygiene and hygiene of the therapy resources that we utilise in sessions. Using appropriate personal hygiene and infection prevention strategies will dramatically reduce the likelihood of you contracting the Coronavirus, this link has details of the World Health Organisations recommendation for hygiene and infection prevention. 

Lastly, there is a lot of media hype surrounding the Coronavirus. Down South Therapy utilises the most up to date sources of information and guidelines published by the WA and Australian health departments and the World Health Organisation in guiding our policies and procedures surrounding keeping our clients, staff and the community safe. As we receive new information, we will ensure to update you accordingly. You can also visit health.gov.au for more information.