A number of aged care homes have had single staff members diagnosed with coronavirus.
Bupa’s Managing Director Bupa Aged Care Australia, Suzanne Dvorak, has emailed staff to advise them that a staff member from their home in Sutherland, 31km southwest of Sydney, has tested positive for the virus.
Bupa previously had a case in their Sydney head office, but this is the first case in one of their homes.
Ms Dvorak says the staff member was last in the home on Tuesday, 31 March and had no symptoms at the time. They are now in self-isolation along with several other staff and no other residents or staff are showing symptoms. Bupa closed its homes to visitors on Friday, 27 March.
The MD says while it is difficult to keep residents isolated from each other, Bupa’s homes are doing everything they can to maintain infection controls.
“Team members are wearing full personal protective equipment where appropriate,” she said. “I know this news brings the coronavirus pandemic much closer to home. I want to assure you that we are doing all we can to keep the virus away from our care homes.”
Bupa is not alone.
A nurse at Anglican Care’s Storm Village 117-bed aged care home in Taree on the NSW Mid-North Coast has also tested positive. While no residents or staff have displayed symptoms of the virus, one resident has been deemed a close contact and is in self-isolation.
The nurse last worked at the village on Wednesday, 26 March, and the Not For Profit stopped visits to its home from 3:30pm on Monday, 30 March as a preventive measure.
Anglican Care said it would continue monitoring its residents for symptoms of the virus with all staff to be screened before starting their shifts.
NSW Health reports there have been a small number of cases in Taree with the local health authorities now ramping up testing of symptomatic people in the area.
A chef at Cranbrook Care’s Bella Vista Gardens aged care home in Norwest, 35km northwest of the Sydney CBD, has also tested positive for coronavirus during a staff screening at the home.
CEO Kerry Mann says the home has taken a number of precautions since learning of the diagnosis with all kitchen staff who were rostered on during the dates that the staff member may have been infectious, have been directed to self-isolate and the kitchen, staff room and staff toilets thoroughly cleaned.
No residents have so far tested positive, but all are having their temperatures monitored daily with additional Registered Nurses rostered on to monitor residents and a psychologist engaged for residents, staff and families.
NSW Health has also confirmed that food prepared in the kitchen is safe for residents to eat.
A nurse who worked across two Sydney aged care providers – Alexander Aged Care Brookvale, 12km northeast of the CBD and Scalabrini Village at Allambie Heights in northern Sydney has tested positive.
“Contact tracing is underway and residents are being isolated within the facilities,” NSW Health reports.
The cases highlight the challenge for providers. Aged care staff are being prioritised for testing under the Government’s testing criteria – but only if they show symptoms.
Providers can screen staff by temperature testing and checking for symptoms themselves, but with research showing 50% of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic, providers have no choice but to rely on the results and hope for the best.
