On Friday, 10 July 2020, a staff member of Fronditha Care’s St Albans residential aged care team tested positive for coronavirus.
The staff member did not work while infectious and was tested positive eight days after their last shift.
They have been in quarantine and will remain so until the necessary protocols are followed. They are not a member of the direct care services team.
Fronditha Care’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Malakonas, said the organisation has notified public health officials and will be continuing to follow infection control procedures.
“The Public Health Unit informed Fronditha Care that we don’t need to do any contact tracing, resident testing, resident quarantining nor staff testing, as the staff member who tested positive has been away from work well past the incubation timeframe,” Mr Malakonas said.
“We want to make residents, their families, our dedicated staff and our community aware of this situation and reassure everyone we are working tirelessly to protect our residents and staff.”
Mr Malakonas said the organisation is providing “every support to the affected staff member” and is working with all residents and their families to explain the situation.
“We are also reminding all staff to remain vigilant with internal infection control protocols and community safety,” he said.
Fronditha Care has been, and continues to be, on maximum alert levels.
“Our priority was to firstly inform the residents, families or representatives and staff at the home first, before making a public statement,” Mr Malakonas said.
“We are committed to providing the latest information to staff, residents and families and are working with authorities to ensure we have adequate supplies of infection control equipment.
“We wish to thank our much-loved residents, their families and friends for their understanding during this challenging period. In particular, we want to acknowledge our amazing staff for their approach and professionalism throughout this difficult time.
“Keeping our residents and the staff who care for them as safe as possible is a shared responsibility between Fronditha Care and our entire community, and we ask everyone to join in this commitment.”
