Victoria's announcement of 41 additional coronavirus deaths came as quite a shock this morning.
It's an unprecedented high fatality count for the state.
The previous highest daily death toll in Victoria was 25 on August 17.
But there is an explanation.
Not all 41 deaths happened yesterday
Premier Daniel Andrews said only eight of the deaths reported this morning actually occurred yesterday.
The other 33 deaths happened in previous weeks.
Why was there a delay in reporting those deaths?
At least 37 of the 41 coronavirus deaths reported today were linked to aged care outbreaks.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the delay in adding 33 of those to the total was largely due to a change in the way aged care facilities reported coronavirus deaths.
"There is a reconciliation that we needed to go through," he said.
Professor Sutton said the historical deaths were linked to a number of different aged care facilities.
What changed in the reporting process?
Professor Sutton said aged care facilities had reporting obligations to both the Commonwealth and state governments.
In early August, the Commonwealth strengthened their reporting obligations to ensure the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC), which has been set up to deal with the crisis in aged care, had accurate figures.
Professor Sutton said there had been a catch-up period to ensure the VACRC had "absolutely definitive data" on deaths that occurred in aged care residents with coronavirus.
"Of course all of those deaths have been known to the facility, they have of course been known to the families of those residents," Professor Sutton said.
"But we will continue to reconcile with the Commonwealth numbers and to have a single source of truth in terms of reporting that."
Are there more aged care deaths yet to be reported?
Professor Sutton said there may still be more historical aged care deaths yet to be reported, but he believed "most of these number are resolved".
"I don't expect a number anywhere near close to 41 to occur again," he said.
"It is heartbreaking to see a number of that magnitude, but it is a reflection of just how vulnerable those populations are and why we need to be mindful of the danger of this virus, especially in aged care settings, but also in disability settings and other places where individuals vulnerable to severe illness reside."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA4LTMxL3doeS13YXMtdmljdG9yaWFzLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWRlYXRoLXRvbGwtc28taGlnaC10b2RheS8xMjYxMjEwNtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjYxMjEwNg?oc=5
2020-08-31 03:43:00Z
52781032483980
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Victoria has recorded another 41 coronavirus deaths, by far the largest daily increase. So why was the death toll so high? - ABC News"
Post a Comment