The staff member at the Not For Profit’s Bodington aged care home in Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, 100km west of the Sydney CBD, tested positive seven days after their last shift at the home and no other cases had been identified as of 2pm Monday afternoon.
Catholic Healthcare says the staff member had not worked since Sunday 19 April and began experiencing mild symptoms which led them to visit their GP. They are currently self-isolating at home along with their close contacts.
The provider says a dedicated team was deployed on Saturday to the home with all residents and staff tested, including the 20 residents in the self-contained wing where the staff member worked with all returning negative results at this stage.
Like many operators, Catholic Healthcare adopted restricted visitor access for its homes in March along with additional infection controls.
“We established a Coronavirus Preparedness Committee back in February based on the early reports out of China at the time,” their spokesperson said.
The operator also acknowledged their staff member for acting quickly when they realised, they had symptoms.
“In accordance with government advice, the staff member sought GP care and testing as soon as they developed symptoms and then stayed away from work.”
Interestingly, Catholic Healthcare says a number of staff have reported that they have been directly contacted by media organisations through their personal contacts.
“We would ask that media organisations be respectful of the privacy of staff, families and residents at this time and refrain from making further direct contact,” the spokesperson added.
