Victoria has recorded 459 new cases of COVID-19 overnight.
Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews addressed the press conference this morning “we have 8,181 coronavirus cases in Victoria, that’s 459 more than yesterday”.
“I’m very sad to have to report that there are now 71 people’s whose lives have been lost because of this virus… Because of this global”.pandemic”.
Premier Andrews says 10 people in the state died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
“Of those 10 fatalities, 7 are linked to aged care outbreaks and 3 are not linked to an outbreak.
“Just a couple of other issues, there are some 560 active cases in aged care, the exact number of settings will be finalised in that realise later today. And we have some 381 active cases among health care workers”.
“When you think about the average age in these sorts of nursing homes, these types of aged care settings being around ninety, many underlying and complex health conditions. Whenever you see an outbreak in aged care, you will see people sadly die. As far as modelling beyond that I would need to get someone from the public health team to come back to you”.
“We need to be working with the commonwealth, and we are. And whether it’s universal PPE wearing, trying to change rosters and delivering that reform so that workers are only working in one aged care facility and not moving between aged care facilities, testing and standing up if you like a really dedicated focus within the state control centre”.
“The response and the behaviour and conduct of individual nursing homes, I’m afraid I can’t speak to that because they are private businesses and not accountable to us. That’s why working together is really very important”.
“Many people have very firm views on that if there is an outbreak in an aged care setting then everyone should be moved at of the aged care setting.
There are a couple of points there, this is the persons home and they have the right to have a few where they want to spend that final chapter of their days – COVID or no COVID”.
“There are also judgments not made by me, they are made by treating doctors about whether the aged care facility can appropriately care for that person. Whether it be in terms of clinical care or infection control.
Shared bathrooms, for instance, that person would need to be moved out. That would be a completely unacceptable risk”.
And the third point which it’s just a fact, it’s not a reason to do anything but it needs to be acknowledged, that whenever you move aged care particularly very frail aged care residents it can be a very traumatic and sometimes tragic process”.
The Victorian Premier pleaded with the public “10 families are currently planning funerals, and the youngest among them, they have lost someone their forties.
Please wear a mask.
Everyone.
And if you don’t you’ll get fined”.
