Four out of five Victorian health and aged care workers contracted COVID-19 at work

A second wave study has revealed that 80% of COVID-19 infected health care workers in Victoria contracted the virus at work, compared to just 20% during the first wave.

This analysis, released by the state’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Andrew Wilson, also revealed that more than half of these infections occurred in aged care.

Prof Wilson said poor infection control practices and staff working across multiple facilities were the key factors behind worker infection in aged care homes, as well as contaminated personal protection equipment (PPE) due to improper storage.

In hospitals, 70% of those infected were nurses with infections linked to staff removing PPE incorrectly, particularly in COVID-19 wards.  However, some Doctors and desk staff ‘who haven’t had anything to do with patients’ have also tested positive.

Advice from the Federal Health Department, which regulates aged care, is to wear N95 respirators or P2 masks when caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

Victoria reportedly increased the supply of these masks from 50,000 to 800,000 per week from 1 August.