Covid deaths in aged care on the rise

Nearly 500 older Australians in aged care have died from Covid-19 as of early 2023.

Recent data from the Health Department revealed a 19 per cent increase of Covid deaths in residential care from December 1st until February 3rd.

This is a stark contrast to the months before, where between November 3rd to December 1st, 161 deaths were reported.

While the Health Department has said every death in aged care is ‘a tragedy’, it said the steep rise is likely due to changed reporting methodology.

“Covid in residential facilities reports now include data from other departmental sources and directly from aged care providers, which was introduced for Covid outbreaks in early 2022,” a spokesperson told The Guardian.

“The spike is largely due to additional deaths captured between December 2021 and January 2023 as a direct result of the data merge.”

Although the number of Covid deaths seems to be on the rise, the latest data suggest active cases in aged care are decreasing.

Whereas close to 4,000 active resident cases were reported in early January, only 805 older people were infected with Covid on February 3rd.

Covid awareness has peaked recently after a new Covid strain coined ‘the Kraken’ dominated headlines in the UK and the US.

While the XBB.1.5 subversion has been detected in Australia, only 29 infections have been reported.

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