Glendale has four residents and 13 staff with COVID-19 (in addition to one resident who died in hospital last week).

They have requested the four residents be transferred but the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services has notified them that the residents must stay in the aged care home, managed by their own workforce, according to a report in The Age.

The DHHS statement says:

"The COVID-19 Aged Care Plan means these care decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and take into account the clinical needs and preference of the resident, and a facility’s capacity to provide the level of care required, workforce and infection control risks.

"Depending on the severity of cases and their setting, the decision may be made to provide treatment for the patient in the existing facility.

“In some cases, relocation into an unfamiliar setting can have negative impacts on the wellbeing of the patient in care, and may result in further risk to the patient”.

The Age reports however that on Thursday 14 residents from Menarock Life Aged care were transferred to hospital.

“Residential aged care homes are ‘homes’. They’re not hospitals.”

“In order to break that chain of infection, that’s what we’re trying to do, is get the outbreak under control with as few people impacted as possible and as short an outbreak as possible.”

“Once you have a resident who is tested positive, them or anyone else who is suspected transferred to hospital I think is the safest way.”

South Australia is the only state government with an automatic transfer protocol. It also has zero infections at this stage.