Infected staff member worked across multiple aged care sites, COVID continues to spread through homes

There have been 21 cases of COVID-19 at a Sydney aged care home as of Tuesday morning, as it was confirmed that an infected nurse worked across multiple sites.

On Tuesday August 2, the NSW Department of Health confirmed that 19 residents and two staff tested positive at the Hardi Wyoming nursing home at Summer Hill in the inner west.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said that an AIN who worked across multiple homes in Sydney has seeded cases.

The worker is said to be an agency AIN and yesterday Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt said agency staff are exempt form the single site working requirements, as reported by the Nine Papers.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said a Christmas in July party at the home may have been a super-spreading event in the facility.

Ten of the 61 residents at Wyoming had not been vaccinated, seven of the 10 were among the recorded cases, Hazzard said. 

The NSW COVID-19 weekly surveillance report shows that, as of the week ending July 17, Since 1 January 2021 there have been 16 cases reported in aged care workers.

Of these, 5 (31 per cent) people have reported being partially vaccinated. There have been no aged care workers that have been fully vaccinated in that cohort.

There were 17 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in health care workers (HCW) in that same period.

Of the 17 cases, five (29 per cent) were fully vaccinated and in total there have been 85 cases of COVID-19 in health care workers since 1 August 2020. Of these, 35 HCWs were potentially infected in healthcare settings.

NSW recorded 262 local cases of COVID-19 on Thursday August 5. The highest number since the pandemic began.

Five people had died with COVID-19 overnight: three people in their 60s, one person in their 70s and one person in their 80s.

There are 290 people in hospital, 51 in ICU, 24 of whom are on ventilators. There have been 78 total deaths.

There have been 4,319 locally acquired cases in NSW since 16 June.

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