Coronavirus NSW: Oblivious worker with minor symptoms behind Newmarch House outbreak
Police have confirmed there will be no further action taken against a Sydney aged care worker who unwittingly sparked a COVID-19 outbreak at a western Sydney aged care home.
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Police will take no further action against a Sydney aged care worker who unwittingly sparked a COVID-19 outbreak at a western Sydney aged care home.
The part-time female carer at Newmarch House near Penrith attended five shifts there while infectious before testing positive to COVID-19. Five other staff and four residents have now tested positive.
Anglicare chief executive Grant Millard told The Daily Telegraph the police visited the home today and asked why the woman had requested time off at her last shift on April 6.
“In a conversation with our care manager on the sixth she asked if she could not do her next shift … police have asked about that today. I think it was because she was concerned about her parents staying with her and she worked in aged care,” Mr Millard said.
In a statement this afternoon, NSW Police said officers said they had spoken with the organisation’s CEO and the facility manager today about possible contacts with residents and other staff, as well as workplace health and safety arrangements.
It is understood the woman was not symptomatic while at work, and was last on duty on Thursday 2 April 2020.
She was tested after this date when advised of contact with a person – not from the facility – who tested positive to COVID-19.
No further police action is expected to be required, the statement said.
Earlier, health authorities said the woman was “absolutely mortified” to know she may have inadvertently started the outbreak.
Mr Millard said Anglicare would support the employee if “this is purely accidental”.
“To be at home suffering COVID-19 and having concerns you might have done something inadvertently would be really distressing,” he said.
Mr Millard said the woman, a long-time employee, was only tested when NSW Health told her she was a known contact of another case and was not displaying symptoms at work.
“What I can tell you is that, to the questions asked of every staff member, she answered ‘no’. She was not unwell, not displaying cold or flu-like symptoms,” he said.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant said the carer had suffered a “scratchy” throat.
“That was not declared and was not apparent from the person-to-person interaction our manager had with her on the sixth,” Mr Millard said.
The female health worker completed six shifts at Anglicare Newmarch House while infectious, leading to five other staff and four patients contracting the deadly disease.
Yesterday, Anglicare chief executive Grant Millard told The Daily Telegraph the staff member did not display symptoms at work.
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“The staff member did not disclose that they were ill, did not disclose that they had contact with any confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, and did not display any symptoms during the period that they were at work,” Mr Millard said.
Anglicare has announced, in a letter to residents and their families yesterday, that it has self-reported the outbreak at Newmarch House to the aged care watchdog.
“The full facts relating to the outbreak are still being ascertained while the NSW Public Health Unit conducts the contact tracing. We are referring the matter to the Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission and the Police may well investigate whether the staff member has breached the NSW Public Health Order,” the letter seen by The Daily Telegraph said.
The missive also explained “the first Anglicare knew about this staff member being tested positive was 10.40pm on 11th April when NSW Health called the home”.
Forty staff have been placed on paid leave and required to self isolate while awaiting their own test results and “all remaining staff will also be tested”, according to the letter.
“Specially trained staff members have been the only ones caring for the residents with COVID-19, to reduce any possibility of cross infection.”
The health worker also worked two shifts at a disability service in Greystanes.
Matthew Fowler, whose father Lionel is in lockdown at the facility, said he was furious the worker had shown up while infectious.
“I’m already scared, I’m already having to contemplate my father’s demise in the next fortnight,” he said.
Louise Payne’s mother Yvonne Vane, who turns 90 in July, resides in the wing where patients tested positive.
Ms Payne said the families of residents deserve answers.
“I don’t understand why they weren’t taking the temperatures of workers who entered the facility. Were they wearing protective gear? We want answers,” she said.
Ms Payne said she called the centre on Tuesday to speak with staff, but no one would take her call. “We’ve found out things on the news, when we should be told first. It’s time for them to be open and transparent,” she said.
Ms Payne said she worried her mum would die alone. “I feel sick. I haven’t slept. It’s on my mind all the time. She’s a beautiful person. It’s just breaking my heart.”
Originally published as Coronavirus NSW: Oblivious worker with minor symptoms behind Newmarch House outbreak