Still Covid deaths in Victorian aged care, as Brett Sutton departs: See full list of outbreaks across state

Victorian nursing homes have widely varying Covid protection measures, with 30 current outbreaks. See where they are.

Covid is still claiming lives in Victorian nursing homes, with outbreaks regularly occurring.

But with mask and vaccination mandates now officially removed for the general public, widely varying Covid safety protocols are in place across the state’s aged care facilities — putting residents at some nursing homes at greater risk than others.

It comes as the man who guided Victoria through the worst of the pandemic as chief health officer, Professor Brett Sutton, officially departs to take up a position with the CSIRO and Premier Daniel Andrews decides to axe weekly health department updates on Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

While Covid statistics will still be compiled and searchable on the Victorian government’s coronavirus website, Friday was the last day chief health officer Covid updates were sent via email and social media, directly to news outlets and the public.

Australian government Covid data for aged care reveals there were 30 outbreaks, 194 sick residents and 42 infected staff members in Victorian aged care facilities as of July 20 this year.

It also shows just 63.4 per cent of eligible Victorian nursing home residents have had their 2023 Covid booster jabs.

A total of 43 Covid-related deaths were reported in Victoria over the last week; an average of six deaths per day.

There are also 118 Covid patients currently in Victorian hospitals, with two in intensive care.

In the past three months, 3,210 Covid patients have been hospitalised in Victoria.

And there have been a horror 8,276 Covid deaths in the state since the pandemic started.

Victorian Department of Health data shows only 51 per cent of Victorians aged 65 and over have had a vaccination booster jab or Covid diagnosis in the past six months.

Of Victorians aged 50 to 64, that figure falls to a shocking 22 per cent.

Victorian nursing homes have vastly different Covid and flu protocols. Picture: Supplied

Elder Rights Advocacy (ERA) chief executive officer Debra Nicholl said antivirals were playing an important role in saving the lives of nursing home residents who contracted Covid, but there were still regular outbreaks and deaths.

“We’ve got a very vulnerable cohort in residential aged care homes, all living under one roof, and that model is the problem when you have a pandemic or other infectious disease outbreaks,” Ms Nicholl said.

“What we’re hearing now is that it’s really up to aged care providers or the individual aged care facility to determine what infection control measures they take … some facilities still have full infection control measures where you need to RAT test at the door and wear a mask while others are like ‘no, it’s fine, don’t worry about it’ … the same applies for the flu, which is a problem at the moment.

“Facilities are pretty keen that people have their flu vaccine before they enter but it’s not mandated, so they can’t force people to do that.”

Chief executive of Victoria’s Council on the Ageing (COTA) and Seniors Rights Victoria Chris Potaris said not only were older Australians more likely to die with Covid, they were also more susceptible to developing long-Covid than people in other age groups.

“The fight against Covid certainly isn’t over,” Mr Potaris said.

End of era as Sutton departs, public reporting changes

Brett Sutton is officially no longer Victoria’s chief health officer — and with his departure the Andrews’ government has changed the way it reports weekly Covid deaths and hospitalisations.

Friday marked Prof Sutton’s last day with the Department of Health and Human Services, after leading the state through the worst of the Covid pandemic.

His tough decisions saw him both admired and loathed.

With Prof Sutton’s departure also goes his weekly Friday email and Twitter reports on Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

Prof Brett Sutton has officially left his job as CHO. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“The weekly chief health officer Update media release and social post for Covid-19 has been discontinued, with the last report and post issued on 28 July, 2023,” the government said in a surprise announcement on Friday night.

“This change reflects the global shift from the emergency pandemic response to managing Covid-19 as a significant respiratory virus. This follows similar changes from other Australian jurisdictions. The Victorian Department of Health will continue to report on key figures and trends online each week.”

The Victorian government stopped accepting RAT results on its websites at the start of July.

The government said it wanted to once again thank Prof Sutton “for his incredible contribution to Victoria since he started in the role in 2019”.

He is leaving to work at the CSIRO.

Dr Clare Looker — who was a Deputy chief health officer during the Covid pandemic — will now take the top job.