The joint Commonwealth and State Government initiative is scaling back its response after the number of active cases in aged care dropped to just 328 on 22 September, down from a peak of 2,075 mid-August.
The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC) developed four distinct colour-coded categories, and assigned one of these category codes to each aged care facility across the state.
- At risk (white) – Category 4
- New (yellow) – Category 3
- Ongoing (orange) – Category 2
- Critical (red) – Category 1
See the graphic below for a visual representation:
The number of aged care facilities in Category 1 has been at zero for three weeks as of 23 September 2020, down from 13 when the Response Centre started in August.
In that same period, the number of facilities in the Response Centre’s Category 2 has reduced to two, from a high of 119 facilities.
VACRC confirmed Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel had visited 517 facilities, Western Health had provided assistance in prevention measures to 37 facilities and 40 personnel from Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) completed 174 visits to 80 facilities.
The centre has also filled more than 28,000 shifts as part of the state’s surge workforce.
As we reported in The Daily Resource, the VACRC is now focusing on returning residents to their homes, so it can divert resources to preventing future outbreaks.
