URGENT COVID-19 Notice to Devotees

Dear devotees,

As you are all aware, Victoria has entered a circuit breaker lockdown which has resulted in several restrictions and the Temple doing Poojas without devotees physically being present.

Following a briefing from the Multi-Cultural Commission, we note that COVID-19 testing numbers for Tamil, Sinhala, Punjabi and Hindi speaking individuals is very low. This is worrying as many of the 170 exposure sites listed on the DHHS website are South Asian sites.

Exposure sites

There are coronavirus exposure sites across Melbourne. If you, or your friends or family, went to or worked at any of the exposure sites listed here at the times indicated, please follow the advice given for that particular site.

COVID-19 Testing

We would like to encourage all our devotees to get tested for COVID-19 if you have visited any of the exposure sites even if you have the mildest of symptoms. These include cough, fever, shortness of breath or runny nose, etc.

Please also encourage your family and friends to do the same, this variant is highly contagious. You do not need a Medicare card to be tested, you will only need a form of identification and a mobile phone, so that they can inform you of the result.

Please visit the link below for further information on testing locations

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/where-get-tested-covid-19

Vaccinations

Getting vaccinated helps protect you from getting sick from COVID-19. The vaccines being used in Australia are very effective at preventing serious illness and loss of life from COVID-19. Vaccination centres are open to people who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

We encourage all devotees aged 40 and over to register and get vaccinated.

You also do not need a Medicare card to get your vaccination at GP led Respiratory Clinics and local state or territory vaccination clinics.

Financial Support

If you are worried about losing wages, you may be eligible for a $450 payment. If you test positive or are a close contact of someone who tests positive, a $1500 payment is available, so you can stay at home.

More information on supports from the Victorian Government is available here.

Reminder of the current restrictions:

Devotees should note that effective 11:59pm on Thursday 27th May until 11:59pm on Thursday 3rd June there are only 5 reasons to leave your home: