Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced today that there has been 397 new cases and three deaths.
A man aged in his 80s, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s died, bringing the state’s death toll to 116.
Mr Andrews said the coronavirus situation in Victoria’s aged care remains “a very serious challenge in many ways”.
There are 1008 active cases linked to the sector.
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“This is very difficult for residents and families as well,” he said.
“All governments, all agencies are working together as closely as we possibly can to have one focus and that is on residents, their well-being, their health and by extension the well-being of families who are obviously concerned and very keen to get as much information as quickly as they possibly can.
“I can confirm to you that there has now been 570 shifts worked by hospital nurses across a number of private aged care settings, that is something that we should be very proud of, very, very proud and very grateful to those teams of nurses and other health workers who support them.
St Basil’s Fawkner Evacuated
As of yesterday, the St Basil’s home in Fawkner has been linked to 124 cases, including 78 residents, 35 staff and 11 other contacts.
The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre, a joint state and federal task force, said the decision to fully evacuate the home was made after six staff brought in to help manage the outbreak were infected in recent days.
“The decision was made to transfer residents to hospitals due to a reduction in staff numbers at St Basil’s,” the centre said in a statement.
“Six staff at St Basil’s have tested positive for COVID-19, and as a precautionary measure all staff have been instructed to be tested and self-isolate for a mandatory period.”
Australia’s Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan said the decision had not been made lightly and acknowledged there were risks with moving residents, particularly those with dementia.
“But it was felt that it was time that we do this for the safety of the residents,” she said.
“It highlights the challenges we face in managing this outbreak. So it was staff that came to help in that difficult time 10 days ago and have now unfortunately tested positive.”
