Geelong Advertiser

COVID TOLL SOARS

AGED CARE OUTBREAKS LEAD TO 17 DEATHS THIS YEAR

- TAMARA MCDONALD

COVID continues to claim the lives of elderly residents in our region, with dozens of people from a Colac aged care home infected during a recent outbreak.

Barwon South West public health unit director Eugene Athan said as of Friday there had been 17 Covid-19 related deaths of aged care residents since the start of 2022 in the Barwon South West region.

COVID continues to claim the lives of elderly residents in our region, with dozens of people from a Colac aged care home infected during a recent outbreak.

Barwon South West public health unit director Eugene Athan said as of Friday there had been 17 Covid-19 related deaths of aged care residents since the start of 2022 in the Barwon South West region.

The overall number of deaths among cases diagnosed with Covid-19 in the region since January was 70 as of Friday, Professor Athan said.

He said on Friday the public health unit team was supporting eight local residentia­l aged care facilities with outbreaks or exposures.

“This includes regular communicat­ion with residentia­l aged care staff to ensure all residents are cared for and exposure minimised,” he said.

“Part of our response is to assist in providing swift access to oral antiviral treatments for residents in order to minimise the extent of the outbreak as much as possible.”

Local facilities were named in a federal government report, released Friday, listing aged care homes with active outbreaks.

According to the report, Mercy Place Colac had an outbreak and recorded 34 resident cases, six staff cases and one resident death.

A Mercy Health spokesman said the outbreak was declared officially over on Friday.

“Families and residents have been advised that there are now no existing cases within the home,” he said.

“While we are able to confirm the number of cases published by the Commonweal­th Department of Health . . . most cases were considered quite mild.

“All visitor and patient restrictio­ns which applied to the home have now been lifted.

“Our exemplary staff, who worked tirelessly to ensure the outbreak did not last any longer than it did, will continue to wear N95 masks and eye protection.”

The document also showed Arcare Portarling­ton had been hit by an outbreak.

At the weekend a spokeswoma­n for the provider said 10 residents and 10 staff members had tested positive.

There had been no further positive cases identified since Tuesday, the spokeswoma­n said, with two cases still active.

On Saturday 398 new Covid cases were reported for Greater Geelong, 50 for the Surf Coast, six for the Borough of Queensclif­fe, 35 for Golden Plains and 30 for Colac Otway.

On Sunday 358 new Covid cases were reported for Greater Geelong, 52 for the Surf Coast, six for the Borough of Queensclif­fe, 26 for Golden Plains and 16 for Colac Otway.

Statewide 9365 new cases and nine deaths were reported on Saturday, and 8744 new cases and four deaths on Sunday.

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