The masks – which have arrived before the scheduled end of April delivery date and are higher than the 54 million expected – will allow for more masks to be allocated from the National Medical Stockpile (NMS), according to Health Minister Greg Hunt.
The statement says aged care workers – and other staff in institutions where an outbreak is confirmed – will be among the groups to receive masks from the new delivery.
However, the NMS is only currently providing masks – not gowns or gloves.
As we have reported, the Department of Health has requested aged care providers that require PPE now email agedcarecovidppe@health.gov.au for all requests – but is prioritising requests from operators that have experienced a COVID-19 or flu outbreak.
Minister Hunt says the stockpiling of PPE for frontline health care workers is a “significant indicator” in determining how ready the health system is for the current restrictions to be loosened.
But if aged care operators can only access masks, can the Government say that the system is truly prepared?
