Covid-19 Ballina: Virus spreads around Bupa Aged Care centre after death

There are currently 15 team members and one resident who have tested positive to Covid-19 at the Ballina Bupa aged care centre following Northern New South Wales first Covid-19 death.

Fifteen team members and one resident have tested positive to Covid-19 at the Bupa Aged Care centre in Ballina after an unvaccinated man died there earlier this week.

The man in his 70s passed away overnight on Tuesday and was the first Covid-19 death reported in the Northern New South Wales Local Health District.

A Bupa spokesperson said the facility remained closed to all visitors to keep residents and team members safe.

The spokesperson said residents had two PCR tests and they were still awaiting results of the second round.

A man in his 70s has died at a Bupa Ballina aged care facility from Covid-19. Picture: Tessa Flemming

“Given the current spread of Covid-19 in the community we cannot say when we will reopen to visitors, however we’re committed to reopening as soon as it is safe to do so,” they said.

“We are providing exemptions for families visiting residents if they are approaching end of life.

“We appreciate that it is difficult for our residents’ families not to be able to visit their loved ones.

“We are also scheduling ‘window visits’ in which family members can talk to their loved one via a two-way radio and see them through the window or arranging ‘virtual visits’ using digital devices or the telephone.”

The aged care facility will also be testing staff daily with Rapid Antigen tests, having team members work in full PPE, minimising residents’ movement, twice-daily clinical observations and deep cleaning of the home.

“We are working closely with the LHD, PHU, Commonwealth, and Healthy North Coast to keep our residents safe and our families informed,” the spokesperson said.

Residents queue at the Tweed Hospital for a Covid-19 test on January 7, 2022. Picture: Liana Walker

To 8pm on Friday Northern New South Wales recorded 1154 new cases of Covid-19.

There are 42 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with six of these in ICU.

The new cases are located in the following LGAs:

• Tweed Heads 641
• Byron Shire 171
• Ballina 106
• Lismore 96
• Richmond Valley 78
• Clarence Valley 54
• Kyogle 6
• Tenterfield 2

This week two unvaccinated Byron residents in their 50s and 70s and a vaccinated Grafton woman in her 90s also died from Covid.

Archibald award-winning artist Craig Ruddy also lost his life due to Covid-19 complications.