Morrison Canberra bound to deal with escalating Victorian aged-care outbreak

NewsColony
Morrison Canberra bound to deal with escalating Victorian aged-care outbreak

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be cutting his trip to Queensland short to “urgently” address issues facing Victoria’s aged-care sector amid the state’s second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The situation remains very concerning and particularly the aged-care situation,” Mr Morrison said.

“The situation in Victorian aged-care is very complex,” he said.

“Community transmission … is finding its way into many facilities.”

There are “no simple solutions” to Victoria’s complex rate of infections and deaths in aged-care facilities, Mr Morrison said.

He said the workforce issues, with so many staff now sick and quarantined, was a massive challenge.

The federal and state governments had a “shared responsibility” for the aged-care sector.

“And that’s why the Victorian aged-care response centre has been set up,” he said.

Mr Morrison detailed staff shortages in Victoria’s aged-care facilities saying quarantine requirements for infected workers had left gaps in rosters.

“The disruption … means you have significant problems ensuring a continuity of communications with families,” Mr Morrison said.

“I know that must be terribly heartbreaking.”

Mr Morrison said the ADF had been deployed to an aged-care centre last night to assist with night shift duties.

Mr Morrison said Health Minister Greg Hunt would speak later today about the growing crisis.

He hinted the ADF will continue to play a more active role in assisting aged-care workers.

“We’ve got over 1400 ADF personnel on the ground … who are available to support that work,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison said he was working with Premier Daniel Andrews to get “additional nursing workforces” into the aged-care facilities.

“That is a key task,” he said.

Mr Morrison had been planning to remain in Queensland, where he is visiting a seafood company today.

“It’s important that we share the responsibility in doing the right thing by each other,” he said.

He said mandated masks in affected Victorian lockdown zones was based on “expert opinion on how we can keep Australians safe”.

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Source: 9News | News Colony

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