Two Melbourne aged care homes go into lockdown after single residents test positive for COVID-19 as Victorian cases continue to increase – Premier blames family gatherings and people going to work

A reminder that community transmission of coronavirus is a real danger.

Private operator Lifeview’s Willow Wood aged care home in Cranbourne, 43km southeast of the Melbourne CBD, and Not For Profit provider Royal Freemasons’ Springtime aged care home in Sydenham, 22km northwest of the CBD, have both closed their doors to visitors after each had a single resident return a positive test. Victorian’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) says they are working closely with both homes to ensure appropriate public health actions have been taken, including isolation, quarantine and cleaning. Both homes are located within the six ‘coronavirus hotspots’ now being targeted by the Victorian Government and health authorities as they try to rein in an increasing number of confirmed cases. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) has advised against travel to and from the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin until control of community transmission has been confirmed – but around 18% of Victorians live in these areas, approximately 1 million people. Over the past week, Victoria has recorded an increasing number of community cases, with 16 identified yesterday and 25 on Saturday – the highest number in two months. The state had been due to further relax restrictions yesterday, but instead extended its state of emergency for at least another four weeks with Premier Daniel Andrews opting to tighten measures again – including limiting gatherings in homes to five people – over the weekend in response. He blames families having larger gatherings and not following the advice around physical distancing and hygiene.

“Since April … half of all of our new cases have come from family-to-family transmission,” Mr Andrews said. “We have even had people who had tested positive and have been told to go home and isolate and instead they have gone to work, instead they have gone and visited loved ones in large numbers,” he added. “I’m frustrated by it. I’m disappointed by it. Unless we can break this cycle … then we are going to see more and more of these cases.”

The news comes as the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) issued an update to aged care homes on Friday to lift their restrictions on visitor numbers and social gatherings for residents.