8 August 2020

Baptcare residential communities – important COVID-19 update

Baptcare can confirm that there are currently three staff members of Baptcare Residential Aged Care Communities who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are at risk of being positive for COVID-19.

• Brookview Residential Aged Care Community, located in Westmeadows
• Strathalan Residential Aged Care Community, located in Macleod
• The Orchards Residential Aged Care Community, located in East Doncaster

In all cases, the impacted staff members did not experience any symptoms before or during their last shift at our communities.

• At Brookview, the employee last worked on Tuesday, 4^th August 2020, and tested positive on Thursday, 6^th August 2020.
• At Strathalan, the employee last worked on Wednesday, 29^th July 2020, and tested negative on Friday, 31^st July 2020.  The staff member was re-tested on Sunday, 2 August 2020, and was then found to be positive.
• At the Orchards, the employee found out yesterday they are a close contact of positive person. They last worked on Tuesday, 4th August 2020, and tested negative on Wednesday, 5th August 2020. However, this test is still inside the 11-day window when a test may become positive.

We can confirm that these cases are unrelated: the impacted staff members have had no contact with each other and they each worked within separate communities.

Our primary concern during this time is the wellbeing, health and safety of our residents and staff. These cases were reported to the relevant Health authorities and we are taking advice from them.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have isolated all residents to their rooms and maintained segregation in each of these communities. All staff will wear personal protective equipment (PPE) – masks, gloves, goggles and gowns. Staff will also sanitise their hands immediately prior to entering any room, and again immediately after. Only essential staff will be allowed on site.

COVID-19 testing of all residents with full support from the Health authorities is occurring over the next few days.

We continue to monitor the health of residents and check their temperatures daily. Existing processes to screen and temperature check all staff daily remain in place.

The staff members are isolating at home and will only return when medically cleared. All staff who have been in close contact with the impacted staff member are in self-isolation.

We are well prepared and taking every action we can to minimise any cross contamination.

We have contacted all families of residents of each community by telephone and email and communicated this information to them. We will provide regular updates to residents and their families, and our staff.

Media inquiries

Contact: Baptcare Communications

Phone: 0400 503 713

Email: communications@baptcare.org.au