Good news with no new Smithton cases and nursing home’s all-clear

There’s good news today in Tasmania’s COVID-19 crisis, as a nursing home is cleared after a resident’s diagnosis a fortnight ago and no new cases have emerged from a concerning cluster.

AN EAST Devonport nursing home will return to normal operations on Monday, with 14 days passing since an elderly resident tested positive to coronavirus.

The news comes as Mark Veitch, the state’s public health director, confirmed no new cases had arisen from a cluster of infections at Smithton, with about 50 contacts currently in quarantine.

Director of Public Health Mark Veitch addresses the media. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

He said the Melaleuca nursing home was now able to “revert to its normal processes” with the 14-day quarantine period now lapsed since a 79-year-old woman was diagnosed on April 19 after exposure to an infected health care worker.

“But like all nursing homes, there will be additional measures in place to ensure the safety of residents and staff during the time of coronavirus,” Dr Veitch said.

No new cases have arisen from a new infection cluster of four Smithton residents and three of their close contacts in the North and North-West since Thursday.

Smithton residents rushed to get tested this week, with about 77 locals undergoing tests at a mobile testing unit as of Friday night.

Dr Veitch also said investigations were underway to identify the source of a patient at the Mersey Community Hospital who was diagnosed with the virus earlier this week.

He said it is believed she was infected in early or mid-April, and staff exposed to the patient were now under quarantine.

Dr Veitch said Saturday’s news of no new COVID-19 diagnoses came following more than 600 tests undertaken that day, with several hundred more processed overnight in the Hobart lab.

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He said testing of non-symptomatic patients in the North-West had enabled authorities to lift the enhanced restrictions imposed on the region, but the state’s health system currently didn’t want “perfectly-healthy people” coming forward for screening.

“Our testing criteria have evolved over time in light of national guidance and in response to local need, which is why we’ve been focusing on testing in the North-West recently,” he said.

“However we currently really don’t need or want people from the broader community without symptoms to come forward for testing.

“We want to concentrate on people with symptoms and people who’ve been asked to get tested by the health authorities.”