Staff at St Johns Care in Reid remain in self-isolation waiting on test results, BaptistCare in Griffith is closed to all visitors and the Federal government's tough restrictions are locked in place as aged care facilities around the region move to adapt to changing requirements.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
New protocols demand that people in aged care receive only short visits and a maximum of two visitors at one time per day.
No social activities or entertainment are permitted for an indefinite period.
No visitors are allowed to enter aged care if they have been overseas in the last 14 days, been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days, have flu-like symptoms, or have not been vaccinated against influenza after May 1.
BaptistCare, which had three of its residents at Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care facility in Macquarie Park, Sydney, contract the virus and die, has shut down all visitation to its facilities nationally.
BaptistCare operates aged care facilities in Red Hill and Griffith.
READ MORE:
Family members with parents in care have reacted angrily to the complete lockdown by the company, saying they only received notification by text message that they could no longer visit.
"It is vital we take additional measures to protect our residents and staff," BaptistCare said in a statement.
"Visits from essential services such as GPs and allied health providers will continue as per normal.
"Residents will be requested to remain in our centres, with any residents who need to leave being required to isolate in their rooms on return for 7 days.
"We understand how difficult this will be for many of our families, and even for our residents who look forward to visits from their loved ones however, we appreciate all cooperation at this time as we do all we can to protect our residents and staff."
After a staff member developed flu-like symptoms at the St John's Care facility in Reid on Monday, all staff were asked to stay away until test results were known.
St John's Care said in a statement the contact had been limited to the staff only and potentially a few volunteers.
A smaller number of staff and volunteers are now assisting at the centre.
Goodwin, which has around 290 aged care residents at Ainslie, Farrer and Monash and some 500 staff across its Canberra retirement and aged care operations, said it would follow all the guidelines set in place by the government, while "continuing to review our policies and procedures, and business continuity plans".
Staff members have been asked to avoid the workplace until provided with medical clearance, "if showing any symptoms or if they have recently travelled".
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said around 20,000 student nurses would be made available "to help support the health care and aged care sectors across Australia".
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.
