Friday 18 December: Federal and State Government round-up of press releases and announcements
Federal: Preparing Australians for the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out: View Here
VIC: Free travel for Victorians this Christmas: View Here
Statement On Victorian Ombudsman Housing Report: View Here
SA: SA has the lowest unemployment in Australia: View Here
WA: COVID-19 relief grants expanded to help pay tenants’ rent debt: View Here
TAS: Tasmanian Government Discounts and Concessions Guide launched: View Here

GPs: “few PPE” and “we are exactly the age group likely to die”
Visiting GPs say that they are only receiving “drip supplies” of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)…

Health authorities expand COVID-19 testing in ‘hotspots’ – but aged care testing highlighted as ‘weakness’
Victoria, QLD, NSW and WA have all widened their criteria for testing, with NSW and…

US: CDC pressured to keep formal tally of nursing homes with coronavirus cases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering whether or not to start…

How many cases of coronavirus are there currently in Australia?
As of 3pm 6 April 2020, there were 5,795 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia…

Department of Health now publishing public data on COVID-19 cases in aged care
Last week, the ABC’s coverage of aged care lockdowns and visitor restrictions criticised the lack…

Staff test positive for COVID-19 at Bupa, Anglican Care, Cranbrook Care, Alexander Aged Care and Scalabrini aged care homes
A number of aged care homes have had single staff members diagnosed with coronavirus. Bupa’s…

NSW: Warrigal home care client diagnosed with coronavirus – staff calling clients prior to visits for welfare check
The client – who lives in the Shoalhaven – has been checked at hospital and…

Andrew Kerr Care’s Angelia Dixon: I told the leadership team I would make mistakes
How are smaller, stand-alone providers being challenged in the current climate? We spoke to Angelia…

Sixth resident of BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge passes away from COVID-19
The 90-year-old male resident passed away yesterday, with BaptistCare CEO Ross Low saying he had…

Opal Bankstown resident diagnosed with COVID-19 dies in hospital
An 86-year-old man who was a resident at the provider’s Bankstown aged care home has…

NSW Police and ADF checking aged care staff are complying with social distancing – at least seven facilities in the Illawarra audited
The NSW Police Force and the Australian Defence Force have been visiting homes and businesses…

Home care providers: expect a call from the Quality and Safety Commission to check on your COVID-19 preparation
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) will be calling all approved providers early…