A reminder that Australia’s 51 cases among residents and staff in its aged care homes pales next to the experience of providers overseas.
63 out of the 150 residents at Borromea Residence, an aged care home in Mediglia – a town of 12,000 people – in the worst-affected Lombardy region, had died since early March, according to CNN.
The first death occurred on 3 March (one month ago and delivering an average of two deaths a day since then) before Italy was plunged into its current lockdown.
Over 13,000 people in Italy have now died from the virus.
Showing how chaotic testing of residents has been, it is not known how many of the 63 residents had been infected with the virus because only 36 residents have been tested.
All 36 who were tested were confirmed as positive – but not all these were among the dead, so no autopsies are being carried out.
The care home says it has made phone contact with relatives who are seeking information on their loved ones.
“We understand their anguish,” the spokesperson said. “We have taken all the necessary measures: we have divided those with symptoms on a floor and those without in [sic] another floor and we check the temperature of our staff three times a day.”
But without testing of all residents and staff – and hospitals overflowing with patients – what can they realistically do to help?
