Anglican Care is working to reassure the community after a second staff member at Storm Village in Taree has tested positive with COVID-19, five days after the confirmation that one employee had coronavirus.
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According to Anglican Care, the organisation received news of the second confirmation from NSW Health on Tuesday, April 7. The first case was confirmed on Thursday, April 2. At the time of publication, no resident at Storm Village or any of Anglican Care's other facilities had tested positive for COVID-19.
Anglican Care chief executive officer, Colin Osborne, said he knew the organisation was at the front line of this health pandemic and was working to reassure the community that everything was being done to protect our most vulnerable.
"We are responsible for the lives of many older Australians who are vulnerable to this virus and we are taking each and every measure possible to protect them as COVID-19 continues to rise in the community," Mr Osborne said.
"None of us know exactly what is to come next with this pandemic situation but I can assure you, the safety and health of our residents, staff and the wider community remains our priority."
Anglican Care stated that it continued to act in accordance with the Commonwealth Department of Health 'Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreaks in Residential Care Facilities' Guidelines together with advice from NSW Health and was strictly following this expert advice. Daily verifications of infection control compliance continue to be in place.
"Anglican Care has been diligent in implementing risk management plans to protect our vulnerable residents including the use of personal protective equipment in line with Department of Health recommendations for consumers with signs and symptoms of the virus or who have been in close contact with a known case of COVID-19," Mr Osborne said.
"We are continuing to educate all of our staff to ensure a heighten awareness of infection control practices."
The organisation will continue to assess individual residents multiple times daily for signs and symptoms of the virus and all employees will continue to be screened prior to commencing their shift.
Both employees who have tested positive are well and recovering at home.
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