Three aged care facilities in lockdown due to coronavirus, Vic records seven new cases
Three aged care facilities have been placed in lockdown due to coronavirus in recent days, with extensive contact tracing and testing underway to limit the spread of the virus. It comes as Victoria recorded another seven virus cases overnight.
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Four Melbourne nursing homes were in lockdown on Tuesday night as authorities scrambled to protect Victoria’s most vulnerable from coronavirus.
Despite a string of confirmed or suspected cases at separate aged care homes in recent days, isolation and containment measures have managed to stop transmission of coronavirus among residents.
The strict action comes as a Sydney nursing home resident yesterday became Australia’s 100th COVID-19 victim, including 18 from Victoria.
Eleven COVID-19 patients remain in Victorian hospitals, including five in intensive care.
Among seven new Victorian cases confirmed yesterday was a resident of the Lynden Aged Care home in Camberwell who is now in hospital, and another from the HammondCare facility in Caulfield.
The MiCare home in Kilsyth was also placed in lockdown while awaiting test results for two residents.
Earlier this week a resident at Villa Maria Residential Aged Care in Bundoora tested positive for the coronavirus.
CONFUSION OVER NEGATIVE TEST
A spokesman for HammondCare said a resident had been screened on Monday, but a second test had returned a negative response on Tuesday morning.
“HammondCare confirms that a resident has returned a preliminary negative test after an initial positive test for COVID-19 in a cottage of Caulfield Village aged care home,” the statement reads.
“The positive result was returned yesterday morning but a negative test was returned today and so further testing is underway. In the meantime HammondCare is treating the result as if it is positive and taking all precautions.”
Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Annaliese van Diemen said all positive cases were treated as positive.
Lynden Aged Care declined to comment when called by the Herald Sun this morning, but Dr van Diemen confirmed a resident at the facility had tested positive.
“The resident is being treated. Residents and families have been informed by the facility,” she said.
Extensive cleaning, contact tracing, and testing of residents and staff from both facilities is underway.
Villa Maria in Bundoora also confirmed this morning that a resident at the home has tested negative for the virus, after an initial test yesterday came back inconclusive.
In a statement, the aged care home said: “The resident has subsequently returned home, as they are no longer displaying any symptoms.
“Further testing has produced a negative result, however the Department of Health are taking precautionary measures and have requested two more negative test results, to be undertaken 48 hours apart.”
Residents and staff who had contact with the potential case have all been isolated.
A fourth aged care home, MiCare, in Kilsyth is also awaiting test results for two residents.
Executive Director Petra Neeleman, said no cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed.
“When a resident shows flu-like symptoms they are immediately put into special care, isolated and tested, to minimise the chance of coronavirus entering or spreading within our care facilities,” Ms Neeleman said.
“Currently, MiCare is awaiting test results for two residents (one resident is at Margriet Manor and one at Overbeek Lodge) who were showing flu-like symptoms yesterday but are stable, comfortable and receiving the quality care and medical attention that we are proud to provide, 24 hours a day.
“We do not believe the cases are related.”
FEARS AS MELB AGED-CARE RESIDENT RETURNS MYSTERY COVID-19 TEST
NEONATAL STAFF RISE TO THE OCCASION DURING COVID-19 CRISIS
CORONAVIRUS CASES BY NUMBERS
Victoria has recorded seven new coronavirus cases overnight, but the state’s total has only increased by six after a case was reclassified.
Eleven people are in hospital, with five of those cases in intensive care.
There have been 1573 cases recorded in the state and 1454 have recovered.
Of all the state’s cases, 165 have been acquired through community transmission.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said while the low rate of community transmission of the virus was encouraging, everyone needed to remain vigilant.
“People with common symptoms of coronavirus including fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose or loss of sense of smell are encouraged to get tested,” he said.
The state’s death toll remains at 18.
MILLIONS IN FINES RACKED UP
Victorians have been fined more than $8 million for breaking restriction rules with more than 5600 fines handed out during the pandemic.
It comes as more than 6800 residential agreements have been changed as a result of hardship.
Speaking in front of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, Attorney-General Jill Hennessy revealed the housing support measures were being used widely.
She revealed the average drop in rent for these cases was 31 per cent where renters needed to strike a new agreement due to loss of income.
SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR VICTORIAN UNIVERSITIES
The State Government has revealed a $350 million support package for the state’s universities but has called on the Federal Government for more funding.
When announcing the support for capital works, research projects and jobs, Treasurer Tim Pallas said a stable university sector was key to the recovery effort.
“Stepping in to provide this funding that will protect thousands of jobs and ensure our universities can weather the storm,” he said.
However, he warned it was not enough and appealed to the Australian Government for joint support.
The State Government will also offer universities payroll tax deferrals valued at around $110 million to deal with the downturn of international student enrolments and other revenue loss as a result of coronavirus.
WORKSAFE BRACING FOR MORE CLAIMS
Up to 20 workers impacted by COVID-19 infections have made claims with WorkSafe Victoria.
Chief Executive Colin Radford revealed 11 claims have been accepted for infections and nine for mental health, following a workplace outbreak.
It is not yet clear how many claims relate to the Cedar Meat abattoir cluster in Melbourne’s west.
However, it is likely more will come with Mr Radford confirming employers were responsible for infection control and that the virus was considered a workplace injury.
PRISON SENTENCES COULD BE REDUCED
Hundreds of prisoners in Victorian jails will be able to have their sentences slashed by at least 14 days, as a result of the pandemic.
Victoria Corrections Commissioner Emma Cassar has confirmed prisoners subject to COVID-19 lockdowns and protective quarantine will be able to walk free earlier.
Addressing the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, she said “at any one time 400 prisoners” are on protective quarantine and will be able to claim Emergency Management Days off their jail time.
Furthermore, scores of prisoners put in lockdown as a result of a scare at the Hopkins Correctional Facility earlier this month will also qualify for sentence cuts of four days.
It comes after the inquiry also heard prisoners had been given increased access to phones after visitations had grinder to a halt.
LONELINESS CAUSING STRESS IN LOCKDOWN
Loneliness is the most common cause of stress during lockdown, research conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey has found.
Responses to the bureau’s Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey showed 27 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men had experienced loneliness in April.
That was the leading cause of personal stress reported by survey respondents.
The survey found 20 per cent of people were finding it harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle and many were indulging in junk food and booze.
Of the 1000 people surveyed, 22 per cent said they were eating more snacks such as chips, lollies and biscuits, 14 per cent were drinking more alcohol, while 10 per cent were drinking less.
Fifty eight per cent of people were spending more time in front of their television, computer, phone or other device.
Since the lockdown measures were brought in, the bureau has been quizzing people every two weeks about how they are coping in the pandemic.
Results collected so far showed 43 per cent of respondents have reported experiencing at least one source of stress that has adversely impact their or their family’s health or wellbeing.
These include loneliness, problems maintaining a healthy lifestyle, problems managing health concerns, relationship difficulties, problems with smoking or with gambling.
The bureau’s household surveys manager Michelle Marquardt said Australians had made significant changes to their working lives, with nearly half – 46 per cent – of all working Australians working from home in late April and early May.
Of those not working from home, 89 per cent reported they couldn’t due to the type of job they had.
Ms Marquardt said the vast majority of all Australians were practising social distancing measures.
The latest survey found 94 per cent were keeping their distance from other people, although that was down slightly from the 98 per cent recorded in survey results from March.
MCDONALD’S CLOSES STORES
McDonald’s has closed 12 restaurants in the state after a truck driver that regularly interacts with employees was diagnosed with the virus.
Officials are tracing the driver’s contacts and testing and isolating staff who work for the trucking company.
It’s understood the business specialises in supplying McDonald’s stores across Melbourne.
Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen said the department had worked with the company to trace all the stores the driver frequented.
McDonald’s Australia said the truck driver had been wearing gloves during deliveries but no mask.
CAN YOU CATCH COVID-19 FROM FAST FOOD?
We’ve all had fast food in lockdown, but with a COVID-19 cluster linked McDonald’s Fawkner, and other fast food workers testing positive to coronavirus — is takeaway food really safe to eat? Here’s what the experts say.
FREE CHILDCARE WON’T BE EXTENDED
Free childcare is unlikely to extend beyond June after a review found operators were worried they would not have enough funding as children returned to their centres.
When attendance levels dived 30-40 per cent at the start of the pandemic, the Morrison Government switched off the subsidy-per-child system to make childcare free for one million families.
CEDAR MEATS REOPENS
Workers yesterday began returning to the Cedar Meats abattoir, which has been identified as the epicentre of the state’s biggest coronavirus cluster.
One hundred people connected to the Brooklyn site have tested positive to COVID-19 since April 24, forcing the meatworks to shut its doors for two weeks.
But yesterday morning, up to 20 staff from the company’s cold-storage facility were allowed back.
On arrival, employees were stopped inside the site’s gates and temperature tested by a man wearing gloves and a face mask.
Another man appeared to collect the details on a clipboard of those entering.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the meatworks said those who had recommenced work had been “cleared by DHHS” and that extra precautions were being taken to ensure staff safety.