Despite the Government moving last week to restrict aged care home visits, there have been more cases of residents testing positive for the coronavirus this week.
Two aged care homes in Quakers Hill and Bankstown in Sydney went into complete lockdown after a resident in each home was diagnosed with COVID-19 – despite the homes being some of the many to put a ban on all ‘non-essential’ visitors before the Government’s announcement.
And at BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Macquarie Park – where the first Australian outbreak in an aged care home was reported – six more positive cases were identified among residents and staff, three weeks after a staff member first tested positive.
There is some good news however.
The National Cabinet announced yesterday that it had expanded the coronavirus testing criteria to anyone who has a fever or acute respiratory infection and also meets one of a number of criteria – including all aged/residential care workers and anyone who works in aged and residential care.
This means that aged care residents and staff who show symptoms will be prioritised for testing – and treated immediately if they do test positive.
At Dorothy Henderson Lodge, NSW Health has already tested 67 residents plus staff last week – and apart from the six new cases – all other residents and staff tested negative.
Also, in encouraging news, three of its residents who had previously tested positive for the virus, have now recovered and are out of hospital – a sign that recovery for elderly people is possible.
It’s also important to remember that Australia is well ahead of other countries on coronavirus testing, conducting around 10,000 tests a day according to the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Paul Kelly.
That is over 25 times the rate of testing in the United States where 53% of tests are positive – compared to Australia where only 1.5% of tests are positive.
So, we are on track to tackling the spread of the virus here – provided we all follow the advice to socially distance, avoid public gatherings and practise good hygiene.
You can find more information for families of aged care residents from the Department of Health here.
You can also call healthdirect’s 24-hour Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080.
