About 10,000 people have been infected with the corona virus in 1,013 nursing homes in Australia. It is feared that two-thirds of nursing homes in the country are infected. The Victorian government announced on Sunday that it will extend a program to provide free rapid antigen tests to those who qualify until the end of September
Caregivers of the elderly are calling for urgent action to be taken to protect residents and staff in nursing homes in Australia from a wave of corona that has affected more than a third of the country’s nursing homes. The Association of Nursing and Elderly Care Providers said that 6,000 nursing home residents and 3,400 workers were infected in 1,013 nursing homes as of last Thursday.
The CEO of the Association of Nursing Homes, Paul Sadler, said that between 10%-15% of the staff are already in isolation, and the coming weeks will put intense pressure on caregivers and elderly workers. The association is concerned that two-thirds of nursing homes may be affected by outbreaks of the virus in the coming weeks. “The reality is that we cannot leave older people without adequate levels of care for too long,” said the Association of Health Care Providers.
Chairman Paul Sadler said 2,301 elderly patients had died so far in 2022, including 114 in the past week. “The coming weeks are critical for elderly care. We must do everything we can to put the protection of older people first and support our older care workers,” he said.
The Victorian government has announced it will extend a program to provide free rapid antigen tests to those who qualify until the end of September.
The number of Australians who have died from the virus has passed 11,000. The state’s coronavirus death toll rose by 102 on Saturday, with Victoria recording the highest number of deaths with 44. New South Wales reported 41 deaths, Queensland recorded eight, South Australia three, and Western Australia two. Just over 71% of the eligible population in Australia received three or more doses of vaccine.