Virus hits NQ home

A TOWNSVILLE nursing home has the third largest Covid outbreak in a Queensland facility as hospitalisations statewide reach their highest level of the pandemic so far.

New federal health data shows the largest active outbreaks in Queensland facilities are currently at Varsity Views Care Community (64 infected residents, 25 infected staff), Bupa Tugun (61 infected residents, 21 infected staff) and Ozcare Villa Vincent in Townsville (57 infected residents, 37 infected staff).

With the aged care industry already struggling to hire and retain staff, the biggest fear is a repeat of the first Omicron wave in January — when a third of shifts were going unfilled due to illness.

It has prompted the industry peak body, Aged Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), to call for the federal government to extend the presence of the military past the mid-august end date.

Nationally, the ratio of aged care homes battling Covid-19 outbreaks has increased week-on-week from one in five to one in three.

It brings the total number of active cases in Queensland to 46,699, with 876 people currently in hospital with the virus, and a further 54 admitted with severe flu.

This comes as health experts say businesses should be encouraging patrons and staff to wear masks again in response to growing Covid-19 cases.

Combined Covid and flu cases in hospital have surged to almost 1000 in Queensland, as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk encouraged people to wear masks indoors following an emergency national cabinet meeting on Saturday.

Infectious diseases expert Paul Griffin urged businesses to reintroduce preventive measures including masks, hand hygiene and social distancing as Covid cases continue to climb.

“I definitely think we need to be doing more to encourage and facilitate masks, if that includes business encouraging them and supplying them, it can only be a good thing,” he said.

“Maybe not mandating them, but if we did more to encourage people to wear them it would help slow the spread.”

Dr Griffin said he hoped the peak of the wave wasn’t too far away but it’s essentially now in the hands of Queenslanders to do their part.

“If we get the response that we need in terms of booster uptake, people testing, getting antivirals and going back to mask wearing than maybe the peak isn’t too far away,” he said.

“But if not, we could be a number of weeks away from it.”