top-stories,

A Services Australia employee has tested positive for Covid after attending work at one of the agency's major workplaces in Canberra. The worker received the positive test result on Thursday after working at the Caroline Chisholm Centre in Tuggeranong earlier in the week. Health authorities declared level four of the building a casual exposure site for the periods between 8am and 5pm on Monday, August 23, and between 8am and 2pm on Tuesday, August 24. ACT Health also said Services Australia staff should monitor for symptoms if they had worked anywhere in the Caroline Chisholm Centre during the same time periods. Health authorities also listed Calypso Cafe, in the Caroline Chisholm Centre, as a casual exposure site for the period between 12pm and 2pm on Monday, August 23. Services Australia spokesman Hank Jongen said the affected parts of the building were deep cleaned before it reopened to staff who needed to work from the office on Friday. READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS: Staff determined to be close or casual contacts would be tested, and the agency anticipated many of them would return to work on Monday or Tuesday, he said. "The number of staff currently working in Caroline Chisholm Centre is very low due to restrictions in the ACT," Mr Jongen said. "All staff working from Caroline Chisholm Centre have designated desks and follow Covid safe workplace practices, including wearing a mask while in the office." Community and Public Sector Union national president Alistair Waters said in a letter to staff that employees who were not close or casual contacts should be able to continue working from home or the workplace as normal. "My thoughts and solidarity are with the poor worker who has contracted COVID-19 and with all of you, your colleagues and your families. I know how anxious it can be waiting for a test result," he said. Services Australia staff have been delivering Covid disaster payments to people in lockdown after a surge of demand. The Covid case follows an urgent plea to the federal government earlier this month from Services Australia staff to be supplied with technology to let more employees work from home during lockdowns. Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT and the lockdown is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36i7SKuzkApKRqnK2hWiW9n/692131d5-65f6-449a-9bd6-4d0fd2d7293e.jpg/r2_0_4498_2540_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg