More than 60 aged care residents died from COVID-19 last week
Nearly 3,000 aged care residents contracted COVID-19 in the last week, and the number of deaths of residents jumped nearly 10% to 61. More than 1,000 aged care staff also contracted the virus. To help fill the gaps, workforce surge staff filled 747...
Nearly 3,000 aged care residents contracted COVID-19 in the last week, and the number of deaths of residents jumped nearly 10% to 61. More than 1,000 aged care staff also contracted the virus. To help fill the gaps, workforce surge staff filled 747 shifts in 45 residential aged care homes over the last week.
| Resident cases | Staff cases | Facilities affected | Deaths (in last 7 days) | |
| 9 June 2023 | 2,760 | 1,039 | 445 | 61 |
| 2 June 2023 | 2,743 | 1,039 | 476 | 56 |
| 25 May 2023 | 2,755 | 1,150 | 482 | 42 |
| 18 May 2023 | 2,191 | 941 | 453 | 38 |
| 11 May 2023 | 1,863 | 791 | 386 | 36 |
| 4 May 2023 | 1,974 | 733 | 391 | 79 |
| 27 April 2023 | 1,984 | 819 | 408 | 40 |
| 20 April 2023 | 1,866 | 795 | 375 | 33 |
| 13 April 2023 | 1,492 | 551 | 302 | 33 |
| 6 April 2023 | 1,078 | 435 | 234 | 20 |
| 30 March 2023 | 942 | 355 | 190 | 18 |
Image: Department of Health and Aged Care As of 7 June, only 50.0% of eligible residents have received a 2023 booster dose and 54.9% had a ‘recent immunising event’ of a vaccine dose or COVID-19 infection in the last 6 months.
A study by Pfizer found that Australians increasingly see the risk of contracting COVID-19 as the ‘new normal’. Nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents to a survey of 1,000 Australians said they believe COVID-19 will be viewed similarly to flu season in a year’s time.
The findings suggest a complacency is creeping in. If more than 60 people were regularly dying per week of any other cause, would there be more of an uproar?
