On Tuesday, Aged Care Minister Senator Richard Colbeck wrote to aged care providers to thank them for their hard work in protecting older Australians, but also to warn that “Australia’s battle against COVID-19 is not yet over” – today, the proof.
Five Melbourne aged care homes had positive coronavirus cases identified among both staff and residents yesterday.
A staff member at Doutta Galla’s Lynch’s Bridge aged care home in Kensington, 5km northwest of the Melbourne CBD, has tested positive.
As we reported here, the Not For Profit previously had a staff member diagnosed with the virus at its Footscray home in early May.
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) says the staff member may have exposed residents to the virus after attending work on July 2 and 3 while infectious.
A staff member at Not For Profit Uniting AgeWell’s aged care home in Preston, 12km north of the CBD, has also tested positive for the virus, along with a staff member at Not For Profit BaptCare’s Karana aged care home in Kew, 5km east of the CBD, who tested positive, but did not work while infectious.
A positive case has also been diagnosed in a home care worker who provided services through Not For Profit Mercy Health.
A resident has also tested positive at For Profit Allity’s Glendale aged care home in Werribee, 32.5km west of the CBD.
Victoria recorded 134 new cases on Wednesday, with none in hotel quarantine, 11 linked to existing outbreaks and 123 under investigation.
In total, the state now has 860 active cases with 41 people in hospital, seven in intensive care.
