Staff from three more aged care facilities, including two in regional Victoria, have been diagnosed with COVID-19 amid fears the virus is spreading outside lockdown zones.
Key points:
- Staff members from a facility in Bendigo and a home in Ballarat have contracted coronavirus
- Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says the cases show all of Victoria needs to be vigilant
- A Federal Victorian MP is calling for a "genuine hard border" around locked-down areas
Victoria recorded 217 new coronavirus infections and two more deaths overnight.
Clusters linked to several hospitals and aged care facilities across Melbourne have continued to grow as cases have risen across the state in recent weeks.
There are now 405 healthcare workers across the state with the virus.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said staff from three more aged care facilities — the Mercy Health Bethlehem Home for the Aged in Bendigo, the Bill Crawford Lodge in Ballarat and Bupa Aged Care Edithvale, in Melbourne's south-east — had recorded positive tests overnight.
"They have been to date concentrated in Melbourne, but now having facilities in regional communities as well is concerning, and just highlights the fact that all Victorians need to be vigilant about this highly contagious virus."
She said it was understood a single staff member from both the Bendigo and Ballarat facilities had reported positive tests.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said an outbreak at the St Basil's aged care facility in Fawkner was now linked to nine cases and 13 were linked to Estia Health Aged Care in Heidelberg.
An Estia facility in Ardeer is now linked to at least 36 active cases, while more than 20 infections and at least one death are linked to the Glendale Aged Care facility in Werribee.
Other cases have been identified at Arrum Aged Care in Plenty, with single cases found at Regis in Brighton, Grace Villa in Greensborough, Baptcare Wyndham Lodge, Werribee, and Bupa Aged Care Sunshine.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced all nursing homes across Victoria will be provided with face masks.
Epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws told ABC Radio Melbourne this week the geographical spread of the COVID-19-affected aged care homes suggested workers may be spreading the disease between facilities.
"If you have a look at several of them, they're all close together, which signals to me, and I could be wrong … that maybe staff are being shared across those facilities," she said.
It is not yet clear how the Bendigo, Ballarat and Edithvale staff acquired their infections.
Some aged care facilities have asked staff to commit to just one place of work to limit the potential spread of the virus — a move the Healthcare Workers Union said was against workplace law.
One worker told the ABC many in the sector would suffer financial hardship if they couldn't work at different aged care facilities or in second jobs.
Calls for 'genuine hard border' around lockdown zone
About 5 million residents of metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire are under stage three stay-at-home orders, meaning there are only four reasons to leave the home.
People are still allowed to travel for work or education, medical care or caregiving, shopping for essentials and exercise.
Nationals MP Damian Drum has called for a "genuine hard border" to be imposed around the lockdown zone to stop travel into regional Victoria.
Mr Drum is the federal member for Nicholls, which takes in Seymour — currently under lockdown as part of the Mitchell Shire — and the towns of Shepparton and Yarrawonga further north.
The State Government yesterday said it wanted people across all of Victoria to wear masks when physical distancing was not possible.
But Mr Drum said too many city residents were flouting the rules and risked fuelling community transmission in regional areas.
Australian Medical Association's president Tony Bartone told the Today show Victoria should implement tighter restrictions.
Despite speculation all week of "stage four" restrictions being imposed, Premier Daniel Andrews said there currently were no plans to change the rules.
He said he would tell Victorians "if and when we need to adjust the settings".
"But that's not for today. That's not something that has been settled. It will all be based on the numbers as they present each day."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA3LTE4L2FnZWQtY2FyZS1zdGFmZi1pbi1yZWdpb25hbC12aWN0b3JpYS1hbW9uZy1uZXctY29yb25hdmlydXMtY2FzZXMvMTI0Njk2NTDSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI0Njk2NTA?oc=5
2020-07-18 05:03:00Z
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