New visitation limits will be imposed on aged care homes in Victoria, as the State Government continues to fight the spread of COVID-19 in aged care homes.
To decrease the risk of transmission, visitation will be restricted to those defined as ‘carers’ from 22 July, with one person for a limit of one hour per day.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos acknowledged this would be difficult for families in a press conference on Sunday, but said it was a necessary measure, reflecting the increasing policies of ‘tough love’.
"We know this will be difficult for Victorian families, but ultimately this is about keeping the people we love safe," Ms Mikakos said.
The new restrictions come as Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced new Federal and State funding will be made available to help residential and home care providers prevent staff working at multiple sites.
A one-off $1,500 payment will be made available to Victorian aged care workers who have been instructed by the Department to self-isolate or quarantine at home because they are either diagnosed with COVID-19 or are a close contact of a confirmed case, but can’t rely on sick leave while missing work.
“We know we have a transient workforce and, in many cases, a casualised workforce working across many facilities,” Ms Mikakos added in her press conference.
“We have had instances in recent days of staff working in multiple facilities and outbreaks in multiple facilities."
The joint funding will also provide additional intensive infection control training for aged care facilities through Monash University, starting from tomorrow.
Staff will also be prioritised for testing and contact tracing, even if they don’t have symptoms, with five new mobile testing teams deployed to homes across metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
Victoria and the Morrison Government has also done a deal with private hospitals to provide extra capacity for COVID positive residents requiring medical attention or who cannot safely isolate in their facilities.
However Aged Care Minister, Senator Richard Colbeck, has again confirmed that aged care residents who contract the virus will only be sent to hospital on a case-by-case basis.
The Minister cited the fact that if all aged care cases were transferred automatically to hospitals in the current second wave outbreak, it would quickly overrun hospital resources.
As we have previously reported, the COVID positive residents at Menarock’s Essendon home were transferred because of the layout of the facility with its shared rooms and bathrooms.
You can’t help but wonder: where is Prime Minister Scott Morrison in all this?
It was not so long ago that the PM was lambasting aged care providers for wanting to keep their doors shut to visitors – remember Newmarch House and its locked-out families.
How times have changed.
