Staff writers
The Latrobe Valley has two active cases of coronavirus.
Both cases are in the 3840 postcode (Driffield, Hazelwood, Hazelwood North, Hazelwood South, Jeeralang, Jeeralang Junction, Maryvale, Morwell).
That figure has dropped by one each day during the past week.
LATROBE CITY ACTIVE CASES
September 23: 2.
September 22: 3.
September 21: 4.
September 20: 5.
September 19: 6.
September 18: 7.
September 17: 8.
Yesterday, Victoria recorded 15 new cases of coronavirus and five further deaths, one male in his 70s, two females in their 80s, one male in his 90s, one female in her 100s.
All of these deaths were linked to aged care.
There are 14 active cases of COVID-19 in regional Victoria, with a rolling 14 day average of 1.1.
Premier Daniel Andrews said it was good to see stability in the falling cases in regional Victoria, but reminded people living in these areas that there are still rules to follow.
“You have to continue to follow those rules, that’s how you stay open, it’s only when you let your guard down that we can contribute to the spread of this virus and that compromises everything,” he said.
Bupa Traralgon has not had any new additional cases of COVID-19 for two weeks and the Public Health Unit has de-escalated the outbreak to the ‘active surveillance’ stage and hopes the outbreak will be closed by next week.
Bupa’s recently appointed general manager Allan Krechowitsch, who came to work with Bupa Traralgon as a clinical manager during the outbreak, praised his team for their dedication to caring for residents during this time.
“I’ve been so impressed at the level of care the team show for our residents every day,” he said.
“Being part of the local community, they often know the residents and their families outside of just the care setting.
“The familiarity means they’re able to support them in a way that not all care homes can offer.
“COVID-19 has presented an enormous challenge to the industry, and to our home here at Bupa Traralgon.
“It has been extremely difficult for everyone involved, particularly our residents and their loved ones, but I’m confident the worst is behind us.”
Morwell’s Mitchell House Aged Care Facility has also been authorised to de-escalate to active surveillance and is now operating under the Care Facilities Directions.
All residents and staff at the facility were tested without any further positive results.
The Care Facility thanked residents’ families for their kind words and support.
Since the beginning of the pandemic 269,485 tests have been undertaken in Victoria, an increase of 15,741 in the last 24 hours.
