COVID-19 deaths in residential aged care homes are continuing to rise.
85 residents died from the coronavirus between 28 April and 21 April, which is the highest weekly toll since last month.
The number of cases in residential aged care homes and the number of homes with COVID has fallen slightly over the same period.
As of 8pm on 28 April, there were 5,862 active COVID cases (3,646 residents and 2,216 staff) in 812 homes. Seven days earlier, there were 5,918 cases in 837 homes.
Of the residents with COVID, 1,333 are in NSW, 983 in Victoria, 452 in QLD, 405 in WA, 395 in SA, 50 in TAS and 28 in the ACT. Of the staff, 763 are in NSW, 363 in WA, 352 in QLD, 347 in Victoria, 298 in SA, 62 in the ACT, 20 in TAS and 11 in the NT.
As of 29 April, workforce surge staff have filled 95,640 shifts in aged care services impacted by COVID-19. These shifts include roles for GPs, nurses, care workers, allied health workers, executive and ancillary staff.
As at 28 April, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has 73 personnel deployed across 13 homes.
At the same time, the Federal Government through the National Medicare Stockpile (NMS) has provided:
- 67 million masks
- 2 million gowns
- 6 million gloves
- 21 million goggles and face shields
- 220,000 bottles of hand sanitiser
