TUES COVID UPDATE – 452 NEW NSW CASES – HAWKESBURY CASES UP BY 1 – LOCAL CARE HOME CASES

NSW recorded 452 new locally acquired cases of COVID in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

There are now 9 known cases in the Hawkesbury recorded in the last four weeks, up one from yesterday, and of those 8 are from unknown sources – these figures are from NSW Health this morning and are up to 8pm last night.

We can also confirm, three residents of Hawkesbury Living’s care home in Richmond’s March St have tested positive to COVID, as have four staff members. Seventy percent of staff members at HL are fully vaccinated.

And relatives of residents at Anglicare’s Carol Allen House on Londonderry Rd, also in Richmond, were informed last night that a fully vaccinated staff member had tested positive to COVID on Monday, but they had not worked at the home for almost a week before that.

According to the letter emailed to relatives last night, The Carol Allen House staff member tested positive for COVID yesterday and they last worked at the home on Tuesday August 10, so it’s possible they may not have been infectious when they were last at the home.

In that email it said the staff member was partially vaccinated – had received one dose – but when we talked to Anglicare this morning we were told in fact the person had been fully vaccinated.

In the letter, the home says, “Anglicare is following the advice of NSW Health and the Public Health Unit to ensure the safety of residents and staff. As precautionary measures, all residents will remain in their rooms and staff are wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Contact tracing is underway, and all close contacts will be tested.”

The letter added:

“We have activated our COVID-19 Outbreak Management Plan for the home. This means:

• The home is undergoing a deep clean.

• All essential visits will be suspended (exceptions will be made for residents who are at end-of-life and visitation will be subject to our compliance with Anglicare’s infection control procedures).

• We have put in place workforce contingencies. This includes a trained team of Anglicare surge staff.”

At Hawkesbury Living, CEO Kimberley Talbot said their home had, and was, taking all precautions possible, relatives were being kept informed, and the home had been working closely with the NSW Health Emergency Response Team.

Ms Talbot said all protocols had been followed, and all infectious control processes had been adhered to.

The affected staff members had all been wearing protective gear, said Ms Talbot, and the home had not long ago been through a comprehensive process aimed at stopping any COVID outbreak or spread. She said it showed how pernicious the Delta virus was.

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