More than 5,000 aged care residents have now died from COVID-19. The latest data from 3 February, reveals that 5,067 residents have died from the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. There are outbreaks in 198 aged care facilities.

Aged care deaths rose sharply in December and January, reflecting in part the rise in community transmission in the broader community. When COVID is in the community, it’s very difficult for aged care operators to keep the virus out – even as they enforce measures such as vaccinations, PPE and mask wearing.

However, there has also been a change in the reporting methodology that boosted the figures in January. COVID data is now reconciled from a number of sources at the Department of Health, including case management teams and providers through My Aged Care.

It’s also important to note that those receiving home care services are not included in these figures, so, tragically, it’s likely that the actual number of people receiving government funded home care services who have died from COVID would be even higher.