Fronditha Care will extend the voluntary lockdown of its Victorian facilities and heighten its regulations on wearing masks as the state grapples with the rapid spread of COVID-19.
The voluntary lockdown of its four Melbourne facilities in Thornbury, Templestowe, St Albans and Clayton) will be extended for at least another two weeks until August 9, 2020.
No visitors will be allowed unless under exceptional circumstances such as palliative care.
Staff have also begun wearing masks at all times, and onsite COVID-19 testing has been available for residents and staff since July 16, 2020.
Chief Executive Officer, Michael Malakonas, said the organisation is in “a heightened state of alert.”
“Our seniors are some of the most vulnerable to this virus and we have to be ahead of this invisible enemy,” Mr Malakonas said. “The mandatory wearing of masks is just one way we can physically protect our residents and staff.”
Since the outbreak began, the organisation insisted that employees only work at one Fronditha Care site and enacted a strict self-reporting policy.
This includes standing down all staff on full pay if they develop symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has potentially been exposed to COVID-19, and encouraging staff to confidentially report if they work for other companies.
Fronditha Care’s procedures in the community have also been boosted:
- All staff are wearing surgical masks when visiting Home Care Package clients and checking their temperatures at the start of their shift.
- A new mask is worn for each client and all escorted outings/shopping trips are reviewed case-by-case.
- All clients and other occupants of the home are also temperature checked before the service can begin.
To date, no Fronditha Care consumer has contracted the virus, and only one staff member tested positive on July 10, 2020.
As per the organisation’s self-reporting policy, that staff member self isolated early and only tested positive eight days after their last shift. The Public Health Unit advised there was no need to test staff or residents in that respective facility.
