The coordinated effort between Commonwealth and Victorian state government agencies has marked seven weeks on the job, providing in-person prevention visits to 94% of metropolitan aged care facilities and 89% of regional facilities.
The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC) says the organisation has seen a considerable drop in the number of cases regarded as ‘Category 1’, down to zero from a high of 13 in August.
VACRC also says 78 facilities are currently experiencing outbreaks, 50 fewer than at the peak.
Executive Officer Joe Buffone said “Our mission has always been the safety and care of residents, the safety of staff, and to stabilise a complex system through unification of effort”.
As we reported earlier this week, Buffone is headed to Canberra to lead the Home Affairs Department’s crisis preparation for the summer bushfire season.
