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Wednesday 7 October 2020
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Aged care outbreak
Bupa has thanked residents and their families for their support during a deadly COVID-19 outbreak that spread through its Edithvale aged care home. Picture: Bupa
Nursing home COVID-19 outbreak ‘closed’ Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au BUPA has declared the COVID-19 outbreak at its Edithvale aged care home “closed”. The first COVID-19 case at the site was made public on 19 July. A total of 44 Bupa Edithvale residents ended up contracting the virus and 17 lives were lost, a Department of Health report released on 2 October read.
Including staff, the total number of cases linked to the aged care home was 79. On 17 September, Bupa declared the outbreak “officially closed”. Bupa released an online statement on 2 October saying that “no Bupa Edithvale team members or residents have tested positive to COVID-19 for well over a month.” Bupa Edithvale general manager Lexie Dennis said the outbreak was
“like nothing we’ve ever seen before in aged care.” “You can’t underestimate the importance of being prepared when you face into something like this. We’ve been lucky to have the broader support of other departments and medical experts within Bupa, as well as the state and federal departments, and the Frankston and Rosebud hospitals. It’s really something you can’t manage alone,” she said.
“We’ve all been through this same trauma and I think it’s brought us closer together. Our team is really focused on being there for our residents and each other. We’ve mourned for those we’ve lost, but there’s also a common feeling that we’ve made it through this together. “From the bottom of our hearts, I just want to thank everyone near and far who have supported us in any form along the way. We couldn’t have done
this alone. To have family support, resident support and the support of the wider Bupa community has been the key to us getting through this.” The Department of Health and Human Services reported one new case linked to the aged care home on 1 October, but noted that “it is likely the staff member was infected some weeks ago, and they are no longer carrying active virus.” Continued Page 3
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