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Deputy Chief Medical Officer hopeful about COVID-19 outbreaks at aged care homes being brought under control
By Mary Ward
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth has said he remains hopeful about coronavirus outbreaks in aged care facilities in Victoria being brought under control.
It comes as greater federal support is brought in to close a "leadership gap" and regular staff complete their self-isolation periods at some of the state's worst-affected sites.
"It is a large task, it is an enormous task, but we're getting some results there," he told ABC's News Breakfast this morning.
"When we talk about residential aged care facilities, these are the homes of these Australians, these Victorians, and we should do our best to be able to care for them in their homes, in those facilities," Dr Coatsworth said.
Ambulances outside St Basil's Home for the Aged in Fawkner where there has been a large COVID-19 outbreak.Credit:Paul Jeffers
"But where that is not possible, then we do have other options to make sure that they are cared for to the standard that we, Alison (McMillan, the federal government's Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer) and I, expect."
There are currently 769 active cases of coronavirus across more than 80 Victorian aged care facilities.
"Our mortality rates have been somewhat less than the international average, but that is not going to be of too much comfort to someone who has an elderly-affected relative," Dr Coatsworth said.
"So the key here is for us to get these outbreaks under control as quick as possible and that means across Victoria, in the residential aged care sector, but [it also means] in the community."
Jobs fall and women bear the brunt as virus hits Melbourne and Sydney
By Shane Wright
The lockdown of Melbourne and growing concern about coronavirus outbreaks in Sydney are leading to fresh job losses and tumbling consumer confidence with women bearing the brunt of the economic hit.
Payroll jobs as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics dropped by 0.6 per cent nationally in the week between July 4 and 11 as Victoria started to introduce suburb-by-suburb lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
Melbourne's usually bustling Bourke Street Mall at a standstill.Credit:Bloomberg
Victoria suffered a much larger drop, with payroll jobs down by 1.4 per cent in the week to be 2.2 per cent lower since the middle of June. The bureau said total payroll jobs were down by 7.3 per cent in the state since the middle of March, the worst of any state or territory.
Payrolls also fell in NSW by 0.7 per cent between July 4 and 11 after a 0.3 per cent in the previous survey covering late June. Jobs are down by 5.3 per cent since mid-March.
Meat industry COVID-19 cases surge in Victoria as union warns against shutdown
By Ben Schneiders and Benjamin Preiss
The crisis in Victoria’s meat industry has worsened with another day of sharply rising new coronavirus cases, as the meat union warned a shutdown of the industry could cause shortages and prompt panic buying.
Infections connected to meatworks have become the second-biggest public health problem in the state after aged care centres, with a combined 32 new cases on Tuesday linked to the four largest outbreaks.
The JBS site has been linked to a major COVID-19 cluster.Credit:Joe Armao
However, the Cattle Council of Australia sought to reassure consumers there would be no shortages of beef at butcheries and supermarkets despite the second surge of infections in Victoria. The council’s president, Tony Hegarty, said the industry had introduced "solid practices" to continue supplying domestic and international markets.
"When plants have shut down, our industry partners in the processing sector have enacted strict protocols to effectively isolate the problem, stopping further spread of the virus," he said.
Clusters at plants linked to Bertocchi, JBS and Somerville Retail Services in Melbourne’s north and west and the Australian Lamb Company in Colac have followed a pattern set overseas where meatworks have become a significant source of COVID-19 cases. The new cases follow an earlier large outbreak at Cedar Meats.
Andrews' comments on aged care were 'really unfortunate': Colbeck
By Mary Ward
Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck has said he did not agree with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' criticism of the aged care sector on Tuesday, after he said he would not be happy to have his mother in an aged care facility in the state.
"The comments yesterday, I think, were really unfortunate," Mr Colbeck told Today this morning.
"They didn't reflect properly the aged-care sector more broadly, and the problem is that we're all fighting this virus together. It's not us versus them, Victoria versus the Commonwealth; in this sense, it's all of us versus the virus."
Minister for Aged Care Richard ColbeckCredit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Colbeck said the federal government and Victorian government had a shared responsibility for the situation in aged care facilities in Victoria. There are now cases in more than 80 facilities.
He said he supported the Victorian government's decision to suspend elective surgeries, and denied the federal government was sending in AUSMAT medics too late, citing other forms of federal assistance.
"Military people have been assisting us for a period of time," he said. "We had some ADF nurses working in Victoria assisting with testing. We called on them earlier in the week and they went into one of the aged care facilities and they did a brilliant job. They saved the day."
Nation's top nurse flags care concerns
By Tom Cowie
Alison McMillan, the federal government's Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, says she had some "considerable concerns" about the care given to residents at St Basil's Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, the nursing home at the centre of the COVID-19 crisis.
There have been reports from family members of residents not being fed and faeces left in beds at the facility. Professor McMillan has been embedded with the Victorian Health Department assisting its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hazadous waste is removed during a deep clean of St Basil's Aged Care in Fawkner. Credit:Chris Hopkins
"On Sunday I went in and we added additional resources to that facility as we were moving significant numbers out as well," Professor McMillan told ABC Radio National.
"I acknowledge that there were some occasions where care wasn't as good as I would want to see."
Professor McMillan said there was enough personal protective equipment at St Basil's but ensuring it was used correctly was still a challenge.
"Yes, there is PPE, I saw that at St Basil's. But it is complicated and it is a difficult procedure and when you wear it all day, as the care attendants and the nurses need to do, it is very exhausting," she said.
"We try to set up a buddy system where you watch each other but it isn't something we would normally do."
While Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday that he would not want his own mother to live in some of Victoria's aged care homes, Professor McMillan defended the response of some facilities.
"There are many examples in Victoria where there are positive cases where it has been excellently managed," she said.
Where are active coronavirus cases in Victoria?
This map shows where Victoria's 4775 known active cases have been recorded, broken down by local government area.
The numbers for Victoria haven't been released yet, so these figures are from Tuesday.
There are now two local government areas with more than 500 active cases - Brimbank and Wyndham, adjoining areas in Melbourne's west. Colac Otway, in the state's west, has the highest number of cases of any rural or regional municipality, with 54.
You can track the number of active cases in particular local government areas using the graph here.
Queensland school closed after worker tests positive for COVID-19
By Toby Crockford
A private school employee in Logan, south of Brisbane, has returned a positive test for COVID-19 and forced the closure of the Parklands Christian College for cleaning on Wednesday.
The new infection takes the state's total to six active cases and a total of 1077 Queenslanders has contracted the virus since the pandemic first reached the state.
The latest confirmed case, identified only as a woman by health officials, tested positive late on Tuesday after returning from interstate last week and was in isolation on Wednesday.
"The school will temporarily close until further notification to allow for cleaning and work will commence on contact tracing," Queensland Health said in a statement.
Have you had an experience with contact tracing?
There are currently 4775 active cases across Victoria, putting enormous strain on the state's contact tracing team.
To put that in perspective, according to UNSW infectious diseases expert Professor MacIntyre, for every confirmed case of coronavirus, there are between 10 to 25 close contacts, so when the state reported more than 500 cases, there would have been 12,500 people to trace. For almost 5000 active cases the number would be far higher.
We're keen to talk to people who have been called up by contact tracers over possible exposure to the virus. What was the experience like? Fill out the box below if you would be happy to talk to a reporter.
Finding staff 'real challenge' for St Basil's
By Tom Cowie
As nurses are redeployed from the hospital system into Victorian aged care homes, the "hysteria" created by the COVID-19 crisis is making it difficult to find staff to work in the facilities.
That's the verdict of Glenn Keys, executive chairman of Aspen Medical, which has taken over running the troubled St Basil's Homes for the Aged in Fawkner.
Speaking on ABC Radio National, Mr Keys said it was a "real challenge" finding workers to go into homes that are battling infections among staff and residents. St Basil's is among Victoria's worst aged care outbreaks with 86 cases.
"At the moment, a lot of them are either in isolation or are positive and then we have a third group who are people who are afraid to go to work," he said.
"I have to say some of the hysteria in the media has not assisted with getting people to go. And it is a challenge and other states are also saying 'do we need to hang on to our staff in case we see this sort of outbreak in that environment."
Mr Keays said the use of personal protective equipment, or PPE, was also a significant issue for aged care facilities.
He said staff needed to put on and take off equipment such as gloves, masks, face shields and shoe coverings up to 50 times a day.
"Most health professionals are not trained in full PPE use," he said. "The volume of PPE that people go through in these environments and the disposal of it is also a major issue."
Teachers and students allowed to wear masks in NSW
By Mary Ward
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has said she has instructed principals to allow teachers to wear masks in the state's schools, as some teachers report being discouraged from doing so.
"We have made it very clear that masks aren't required, but we've also let our principals know that if any of our teachers want to wear their mask they can and they should be supported by their school," Ms Mitchell told radio station 2GB this morning.
"The same goes for students... particularly this term, if there's a sense of comfort that comes from wearing the mask."
NSW Minister for Education Sarah MitchellCredit:Kate Geraghty
The Department of Education has sent out masks along with other PPE equipment for schools' sick bays, but if teachers want to wear a mask they will need to provide their own, Ms Mitchell said.
NSW has recorded more than 30 coronavirus cases connected to schools in its public, Catholic and independent sectors. Bayanami Public School, near Parramatta in Sydney's west, is closed today after a case in a student was confirmed yesterday.
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2020-07-28 23:02:00Z
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