Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

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I am really not sure what you are trying to argue here.Whether aged care is private (the great majority is ) or public the responsibility for managing this pandemic has been taken on by the States,particularly in Victoria.

Caveat: I am am outsider not involved in the sector at all and relying on what I hear at the pressers.

Should I let Dan and Greg know they both mislead me today in their media pressers?

They both indicated that the aged care homes were being managed by the Feds until the last day or so where the Feds asked the Vic gov to step in.

Until the request, 10% of the homes were being looked after by Vic gov (where there are no outbreaks of which I am aware) and the rest private operators under the oversight of the Feds.
 
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And as everyone predicted, QLD inches another step closer to completely closing the border with NSW, advising QLD'ers not to travel there.

Great, we have loads of travel booked (for work)....

---
Queenslanders advised not to travel to NSW

Queensland's Premier has warned residents not to travel to News South Wales.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reiterates she is indeed poised to "slam" the state's southern border shut if community transmission explodes in New South Wales.

"I would advise Queenslanders at the moment to not travel to New South Wales," she said.

I hope it stays open to SA as number 2 son has to fly to Brisbane to do biometric tests for UK youth visa in next few days.
 
With respect to the ICU case, having had a think about it, it’s more likely that the parent infected the other parent and then through breastfeeding infected the baby.
 
In Vic, most of the spread/ cases/fatalities at present are in areas generally regarded as essential and so would normally have to still operate in a full lockdown.

NSW seems to be mainly via restaurants and pubs, which is not a full lockdown measure (Edit as in would be introduced earlier). So perhaps clamping down on this would be done first if the contract tracing/isolation measure is not deemed to be sufficient.


I am really not sure what you are trying to argue here.

My post was a reply to a question from Jakeseven. My other reply to Jakeseven prior to your post outlines this. So hopefully that clears it up for you.


I am not disagreeing that the current approach may not need extra measures. With NSW all I was suggesting that as a key issue at present seems to be spread through restaurants and pubs that further measures could be implemented there first, and indeed I have been somewhat surprised that this has not already occurred as it seems that new cases just keep happening daily through these premises. Remember too that full lockdown will cause some deaths too from non-Covid19 reasons.

With Vic most cases at present are in aged care and in food supply chains. The trouble is that the elderly still have to be cared for and 6 million people still need to eat. So these two sectors cannot be completely shut down. That is not to say that some food related businesses cannot be shut down. Indeed some have already been at least for certain periods..


Your comments that I have argued that the hotel quarantine failures were not the cause of this second spike in Victoria are baseless. Indeed I have posted the opposite of this many times from brief posts to more lengthy ones.

Also just on the CH10 news was Sutton stating that most of the cases in the second spike can be linked back to the security guards.

The Hotel Quarantine Enquiry was told today that EVERY case in the second wave in Victoria could be traced back to the hotel quarantine guards.

As just reported on CH10 news
 
Though this part of your answer to jakeseven was irrelevant to his post.
Vic public sector Registered Nurses are now being deployed to assist the Federal Gov at these aged care facilities, plus other measures (as I mentioned recently Aged Care is under the oversight of Federal Gov and not state/territory governments).

And the earlier comment as you suggested,

Age care is an entirely different thing and should not be discussed as being within the same category as hospitals, for all sorts of reasons. The Federal Government also has oversight of Age Care.

Now whilst it is true that the Commonwealth government is responsible for the regulation,licensing,monitoring and funding of Aged Care facilities it is not responsible for the health of the residents.That is a State responsibility.So the Victorian government is responsible for the health of all it's citizens including in Aged care homes.
So my comments were why are you trying to imply that the Commonwealth government is responsible for protecting Nursing Home residents.I am sorry if that is not what you imply hence my question-Why raise those comments?

Now prior to the security guards testing positive Nursing homes were working with the Victorian DHHS as this 18/5 report from the ABC suggests.

HammondCare senior nurse Angela Raguz said in a statement earlier that further testing was underway and the facility had been placed into lockdown.

"HammondCare is treating the result as if it is positive and taking all precautions," Ms Raguz said.

She said the resident who tested positive for coronavirus lived in the same cottage as 11 other residents.

HammondCare had deployed its outbreak management plan which included additional staff resources and was working closely with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), she said.

"Our plan is that there will be information available to families at any time, day or night," Ms Raguz said.

"As residents of this home may live with dementia we are especially mindful of their specific needs in what is a challenging time for all residents and staff."

So the Commonwealth government was not responsible for the day to day health concerns.

There was a great example in Tasmania.When it was apparent that there was a North West Hospital cluster the nursing homes were put into lockdown and supplied PPE.As I work across the 3 major hospitals in northern Tasmania I was in the loop and received Health dept. and their Emergency committee emails about such events.The Premier was right across it.
Now Tasmania's population is no where near even Melbournes but as soon as the Towers cluster was evident Nursing homes should have been put into lockdown and PPE supplied.
The same goes for those areas of Sydney if their clusters get any more than 50-100 new cases per day.They do however seem to be on top of it so shouldn't be complacent.
But if it goes pear shape and Gladys hadn't done that for nursing homes I would blast her too.
 
Though this part of your answer to jakeseven was irrelevant to his post.

1/ Well we will have to agree to disagree then. My reply to jakeseven was that age care in Victoria was one of two key areas that were recording new cases and that statewide lockdown measures in themselves would not directly control those two areas.

You ask why I raised age care in reply to them. Perhaps re-read why I wrote in reply. I would have thought my stated replies were very clear as to why.

So my answer was entirely relevant to their post.


2/ You seem to take an entirely different meaning of the world oversight than I.

Personally I believe that the word "oversight" is appropriate and accurate in the context I used them the two times I used it. I can understand that others may interpret it differently. The Feds have used it the same way I have though.

You will note the press release below is that The Australian Government is establishing a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre ,

and not the The Victorian Government is establishing a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre


Media event date:
25 July 2020
Date published:
27 July 2020
Media type: Media release
Audience: General public
The Australian Government is establishing a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre to co-ordinate and expand resources to tackle the challenge of COVID-19 in age care services.
The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre will bring together Commonwealth and State government agencies at the State Control Centre in Melbourne in a co-ordinated effort to manage the impact of the pandemic across facilities.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt and Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Richard Colbeck, said the Federal Government-led centre would offer a clear and direct oversight to managing outbreaks.
Supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria, Emergency Management Australian (EMA) and Emergency Management Victoria (EMV), the response centre will offer a scalable and coordinated response mechanism as we continue to respond to the pandemic.
“This co-ordinated approach will not just prioritise the quality of care and protection of residents but it will also ensure rapid and effective responses for providers and ensure communication with families” Minister Hunt said.
The Response Centre will be led by an executive team including clinical and operational leads, enabling a rapid response as required.
It will include staff from Department of Health, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, DHHS, EMA, EMV and Defence.
In addition there will be stakeholder liaison arrangements with Older Persons Advisory Network, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Australian Medical Association, Leading Aged Services Australia, Aged and Community Services Australia, the Aged Care Guild, Seniors Australia, Dementia Australia and Council Of The Ageing.
Minister Colbeck said the co-ordinated response offered an additional layer of confidence for residents in aged care, families and staff during an unprecedented time.
“We stand ready to offer the support needed to protect senior Australians, their families and care providers in what is the greatest challenge the sector has faced,” Minister Colbeck said.
“We are listening and understand the complex issues that lay ahead. Together we can ensure provisions are in place to reinforce the sector at every level and ultimately protect the lives of those people we care for most.”
The Commonwealth is already providing a surge workforce and supplementation support of more than 450 in aged care facilities.
Additional resources include undertaking a process for staff to work at a single site to minimise COVID-19 spread, disbursement of PPE, testing in facilities where positive cases are identified and additional testing in areas identified as high risk.


3/ I also note that you have not retracted your baseless claim with respect to myself and hotel quarantine. So I assume no retraction or apology is coming.



4/ You are asking about things I did not say or imply. I am happy to answer questions on things I actually did write, but I am just going to ignore your hypotheticals on what you think that I am trying to imply.
 
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Today's Vic DHHS report..

My bolding


Media release
28 July 2020

Victoria has recorded 384 new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 9,049.
The overall total has increased by 353 due to 31 cases being reclassified – largely due to duplication.

Within Victoria, 78 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 306 are under investigation.

There have been six new deaths from COVID-19 reported since yesterday. They were a man and a woman in their 90s, two women and a man in their 80s and a man in his 70s. Four of the deaths are linked to aged care facilities. To date, 83 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria.
In Victoria at the current time:

  • 1363 cases may indicate community transmission
  • 4775 cases are currently active in Victoria
  • 260 cases of coronavirus are in hospital, including 42 in intensive care
  • 3937 people have recovered from the virus
  • Of the total cases, 8387 cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 485 are from regional Victoria
  • Total cases include 4481 men and 4471 women
  • More than 1,536,600 tests have been processed
  • Total number of healthcare workers: 775, active cases: 414
  • There are 769 active cases relating to outbreaks in aged care facilities
Cases currently linked to public housing in North Melbourne, Flemington and Carlton are as follows:
  • 306 cases are residents of various public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington. Investigations are continuing into how these cases are linked.
  • 66 cases are residents of various public housing towers in Carlton. Investigations are continuing into if and/or how these cases are linked.
Active aged care outbreaks with the highest coughulative case numbers are as follows:
  • 88 cases have been linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Ardeer
  • 86 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner
  • 82 cases have been linked to Epping Gardens Aged Care in Epping
  • 76 cases have been linked to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth
  • 62 cases have been linked to Menarock Life Aged Care Facility in Essendon
  • 53 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee
  • 51 cases have been linked to Batpcare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee
  • 50 cases have been linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Heidelberg
  • 40 cases have been linked to Outlook Gardens Aged Care Facility in Dandenong North
  • 39 cases have been linked to Arcare Aged Care Facility in Craigieburn
Single cases in staff members at the following aged care facilities have also been notified to the department – BUPA Aged Care in Woodend, Australian Unity Campbell Place in Glen Waverley, Opal South Valley in Geelong and BUPA Aged Care in Greensborough.
  • Cases currently linked to key outbreaks are as follows:
  • 99 cases have been linked to Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham
  • 89 cases have been linked to Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown
  • 76 cases have been linked to JBS in Brooklyn
  • 50 cases have been linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac
  • 29 cases have been linked to the Woolworths Distribution Centre in Mulgrave
  • 27 cases have been linked to LaManna Supermarket in Essendon Fields
  • 19 cases have been linked to Respite Services Australia in Moonee Ponds
  • 14 cases have been linked to the Linfox Warehouse in Truganina
  • 10 cases have been linked to Don KR Castlemaine
  • 10 cases have been linked to Aruma Disability Services in Pascoe Vale
  • 5 cases have been linked to Laverton Cold Storage in Truganina
 
Another Potts Point / Kings X case in inner Sydney

----------------------

Sydney gym closes after member tests positive

A Fitness First gym in Kings Cross has been forced to close for deep cleaning after a person infected with COVID-19 took part in a group class last Monday, July 20.

"Fitness First Kings Cross was made aware by the NSW Health Department that an individual who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 visited its Kings Cross
club on July 20 to attend a class only, and did not use the gym floor or facilities," the club said in a statement.

 
New cases in LGA's outside of the restricted LGAs.

There has been a bit more spread in terms of number of LGA's today.

Greater Geelong 4
Colac Oatway 4
Macedon Ranges 2
Greater Bendigo 3
Moorobool 2
Goldern Plains 1
Bass Coast 1
Campaspe 1
Mansfield 1
Northern Grampians 1
Southern Grampians 1
West Wimmera 1

VIC CASES LGA
Tue 28 Jul
 
Three new cases linked to the Potts Point cluster were diagnosed on Tuesday, with two of those visiting The Apollo on July 22, then the Cruising Yacht Club Australia in Rushcutters Bay on subsequent nights, a statement from NSW Health revealed.

Both people also dined at the Thai Rock restaurant in Potts Point, and authorities now believe this links the two outbreaks.

 
1/ Well we will have to agree to disagree then. My reply to jakeseven was that age care in Victoria was one of two key areas that were recording new cases and that statewide lockdown measures in themselves would not directly control those two areas.

You ask why I raised age care in reply to them. Perhaps re-read why I wrote in reply. I would have thought my stated replies were very clear as to why.

So my answer was entirely relevant to their post.


2/ You seem to take an entirely different meaning of the world oversight than I.

Personally I believe that the word "oversight" is appropriate and accurate in the context I used them the two times I used it. I can understand that others may interpret it differently. The Feds have used it the same way I have though.

You will note the press release below is that The Australian Government is establishing a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre ,

and not the The Victorian Government is establishing a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre


Media event date:
25 July 2020
Date published:
27 July 2020
Media type: Media release
Audience: General public
The Australian Government is establishing a Victorian Aged Care Response Centre to co-ordinate and expand resources to tackle the challenge of COVID-19 in age care services.
The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre will bring together Commonwealth and State government agencies at the State Control Centre in Melbourne in a co-ordinated effort to manage the impact of the pandemic across facilities.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt and Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Richard Colbeck, said the Federal Government-led centre would offer a clear and direct oversight to managing outbreaks.
Supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria, Emergency Management Australian (EMA) and Emergency Management Victoria (EMV), the response centre will offer a scalable and coordinated response mechanism as we continue to respond to the pandemic.
“This co-ordinated approach will not just prioritise the quality of care and protection of residents but it will also ensure rapid and effective responses for providers and ensure communication with families” Minister Hunt said.
The Response Centre will be led by an executive team including clinical and operational leads, enabling a rapid response as required.
It will include staff from Department of Health, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, DHHS, EMA, EMV and Defence.
In addition there will be stakeholder liaison arrangements with Older Persons Advisory Network, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Australian Medical Association, Leading Aged Services Australia, Aged and Community Services Australia, the Aged Care Guild, Seniors Australia, Dementia Australia and Council Of The Ageing.
Minister Colbeck said the co-ordinated response offered an additional layer of confidence for residents in aged care, families and staff during an unprecedented time.
“We stand ready to offer the support needed to protect senior Australians, their families and care providers in what is the greatest challenge the sector has faced,” Minister Colbeck said.
“We are listening and understand the complex issues that lay ahead. Together we can ensure provisions are in place to reinforce the sector at every level and ultimately protect the lives of those people we care for most.”
The Commonwealth is already providing a surge workforce and supplementation support of more than 450 in aged care facilities.
Additional resources include undertaking a process for staff to work at a single site to minimise COVID-19 spread, disbursement of PPE, testing in facilities where positive cases are identified and additional testing in areas identified as high risk.


3/ I also note that you have not retracted your baseless claim with respect to myself and hotel quarantine. So I assume no retraction or apology is coming.



4/ You are asking about things I did not say or imply. I am happy to answer questions on things I actually did write, but I am just going to ignore your hypotheticals on what you think that I am trying to imply.
I have not claimed you have avoided the question of the problems with hotel quarantine management in Victoria.You have just interpreted my words in a way totally different to my context.The point I was making was that trying to shift the discussion to the Commonwealth was not helpful.

Just like you have not acknowledged that health,even in aged care homes,is a State responsibility as the Tasmanian government recognised.

The Commonwealth setting up a Victorian Aged Care Response centre is an admirable thing to do by the Commonwealth but it in no way means that the Commonwealth is responsible for health in aged care establishments.And I note the date 25/7/2020.The problems in Aged Care in Victoria have been going on well before that.Rather than your view on this act proving the Commonwealth is responsible for health care another interpretation could be that the Commonwealth Government thought Victoria needed help.But neither of us was in anyway privy to the negotiations so ours are just opinions.
 
The Commonwealth setting up a Victorian Aged Care Response centre is an admirable thing to do by the Commonwealth

And a lovely quote from 'Dan' today (it seems we are on first name terms here) that the Victorian government is happy "to assist" the commonwealth government in the VACR. That's nice.

I only delved into the aged care situation in Victoria this evening. My God. When this is all over I hope some investigations, and maybe criminal prosecutions of those 'responsible' (care homes management, government, authorities) will be done and sought.

I asked when there was the outbreak in NW Tas nursing homes, why residents infected weren't treated in hospital, given their obvious vulnerabilities. Explained by several medicos that "all things considered" it was not always appropriate. I was skeptical then (in my layman's ignorance) and I hope it's not too late in Victoria. For many, unfortunately, it is.
 
I have not claimed you have avoided the question of the problems with hotel quarantine management in Victoria.You have just interpreted my words in a way totally different to my context.

Another red herring, as that is not what you actually wrote.

You wrote:
No matter how much you and Dan argue to the contrary the major cause of this second spike in Victoria was the failure in mandatory hotel quarantine and that was managed by the State Government.

So please explain exactly the context then, and specifically how I have argued to the contrary the major cause of this second spike in Victoria was the failure in mandatory hotel quarantine and that was managed by the State Government.

The reason I take offence to your statement is that I have actually argued that the hotel quarantine failure is what created the second spike. This is the opposite of what you wrote above.
 
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Another school closed in Sydney after student tests positive

Bayanami Public School near Parramatta will be closed on Wednesday after a student tested positive to COVID-19.
Students will learn remotely while the school is cleaned and NSW Health works to try and establish close contacts.

Last week, three Catholic schools were closed due to students testing positive to COVID-19.

 
And a lovely quote from 'Dan' today (it seems we are on first name terms here) that the Victorian government is happy "to assist" the commonwealth government in the VACR. That's nice.

I only delved into the aged care situation in Victoria this evening. My God. When this is all over I hope some investigations, and maybe criminal prosecutions of those 'responsible' (care homes management, government, authorities) will be done and sought.

I asked when there was the outbreak in NW Tas nursing homes, why residents infected weren't treated in hospital, given their obvious vulnerabilities. Explained by several medicos that "all things considered" it was not always appropriate. I was skeptical then (in my layman's ignorance) and I hope it's not too late in Victoria. For many, unfortunately, it is.
Going through all the Tasmanian cases only 1 contracted Covid actually in a nursing home.There were 2-3 nursing home residents who were actually inpatients of the North West Hospital when they contracted the virus.I am not sure if they were any of the deaths though.
So 12 out of the 13 Covid deaths in Tasmania were in the North West but all of those deaths occurred in hospital either NWRH or the Mersey.As far as I am aware though none of those were admitted to an IC unit.

But this was the point I was making with Aged Care in the North West.Despite a large cluster associated with the NWRH and health care workers being infected at least 2 who had worked in nursing homes there was only 1 documented infection in a Nursing Home and that patient was not admitted to either the NWRH or the Mersey as they were not accepting any admissions at all at the time.She may have been admitted to the LGH but if she was she survived.

The Tasmanian Health Dept did a very good job.
 
COVID continues to spread in luxury Sydney suburb


A testing clinic will be opened in Rushcutters Bay Park, and NSW Health have expanded health warnings around several restaurants, gym and a yacht club including the iconic Apollo restaurant in Potts Point as coronavirus cases in the exclusive area continue to grow.

 
An exclusive news.com.au story apparently.....super sad if true

 
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