Logan dodges COVID-19 bullet despite chalking up 49 cases
Logan has dodged a coronavirus bullet and its aged care facilities will start reopening tomorrow. The city has recorded 49 cases since March, with sources of five cases still unknown.
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Logan has dodged a COVID-19 outbreak bullet and more than 20 aged care facilities are preparing to reopen for visitors.
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Queensland recorded one new case of coronavirus overnight, but no new cases of community transmission.
The city was at the centre of a crackdown after two women, one a cleaner at a Park Ridge high school, were found to have contracted the virus.
The two cases triggered the closure of aged care facilities across the southeast and Logan.
This morning, Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said those restrictions could start to be relaxed from midday with the exception of a facility at Pinjarra Hills, which has a further 15 days in isolation.
“No community transmission in Queensland, so that means that we can safely reopen our aged care facilities,” Dr Young said.
“We still need to be very cautious, very careful at all times, because our aged care facilities have the most vulnerable people in our society living in them.”
LOGAN CASES
There have been 49 cases of COVID-19 in Logan including one of the women who contracted it interstate.
Two other cases were contracted interstate and 30 were acquired overseas.
In Logan, 11 people acquired the virus locally with the source known but in five cases, the source is still unknown.
The state’s total number of cases is 1089 with 11 of those cases active and six deaths.
The recorded virus case disclosed today was a person who travelled from overseas and is in hotel quarantine.
Since Sunday, there have been 8549 COVID-19 tests in Queensland with a total of 668,751 conducted.
AGED CARE FACILITIES IN LOGAN
Staff and residents at the 60-bed Talbarra facility at Waterford, a sister facility to the one at Pinjarra Hills, will be able to catch up with family and friends after restrictions eased at midday.
The staff at the centre did not need to conduct testing as procedures were already in place at the centre.
Infinite Aged Care at Cornubia, which has 133 beds, said it was still waiting for word from its head office but it was expected doors would open to visitors tomorrow but possibly with time restrictions imposed.
The lockdown at more than 20 aged care facilities across Logan put pressure on aged carers, who faced greater isolation following the tighter restrictions.
A newly launched program, run by the Benevolent Society, stepped up its services this month to help cope with the virus.
EXTRA HELP
The Benevolent Society adjusted one of its free programs over the weekend after the state government’s directive barring visitors at all aged care facilities in Logan, Ipswich, Redland, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Scenic Rim with the exception of end-of-life visits.
The new Volunteer Carer Connect program widened its reach and will now be offered to all unpaid carers not just those aged 65 years and over as was the original criteria.
The service was launched in July for unpaid, older carers at risk of severe isolation, loneliness and anxiety, on the Gold Coast and in Logan.
It links more than 120 older carers at the Gold Coast and in Logan with a trained volunteer who will provide social, emotional and informational support via Telehealth and in-person services.
A National Seniors report, published in July, said COVID-19 restrictions meant the domestic support or community-based respite services that family carers would normally turn to in a crisis were unlikely to be available.
“Currently, there are very few other options for family caregivers,” the report said.
“The formal age care system is not well equipped to support informal carers, particularly if a family has not dealt with the system previously.”
Volunteer Carer Connect is based on the highly successful, evidence-based Volunteer Family Connect program, which The Benevolent Society has been delivering on the Gold Coast for 10 years, providing support to more than 400 people.
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“Our volunteers wear masks and check if any of the carers have been to a hot spot before deciding on whether an in-person visit is safe and appropriate,” a spokesman said.
“We know the closure or reduction of services for care recipients and anxiety about the risk of infection in public settings has exponentially increased the burden of caring.
“The Benevolent Society knows that unpaid, older carers of those with mental health, chronic and terminal illness and disability tend to prioritise the care recipient’s needs over their own. “This can lead to serious impacts on the carer’s mental health and wellbeing.”
The Benevolent Society said even before COVID-19, too many older Australians were struggling with severe social isolation and loneliness.
