Blitz for aged care workers to get COVID-19 jab

THE Victorian Government has announced all aged care and disability workers will soon be able to jump the queue at mass vaccination centres, as the state records three new local COVID-19 cases.

Health Minister Martin Foley announced express lanes will be opened for aged care and disability workers from tomorrow (Wednesday, June 2) to Sunday, June 6 at 10 of the state’s vaccination centres, including Barwon Health’s hub at the former Ford factory in North Geelong.

The lanes will operate from 9am to 4pm and workers will need to show proof of employment.

“We will keep doing all we can to ensure we are making it as easy and as fast as possible for healthcare and aged care workers in the public or private sector to get vaccinated as quickly as they can,” Mr Foley told reporters today (Tuesday, June 1).

The five-day blitz comes after the state’s latest outbreak spread to an aged care facility in Melbourne’s northwest.

Two workers at Arcare Maidstone and a 99-year-old resident have tested positive.

The resident, who was taken to hospital for treatment, received just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

One of the workers also received a dose but the other, who also worked shifts at BlueCross Western Gardens in Sunshine from Wednesday to Friday, has not.

Both facilities have been locked down as all staff and residents are tested.

Mr Foley said there have been no additional cases at Arcare Maidstone or BlueCross Western Gardens.

He confirmed two of the state’s three new cases are close contacts of COVID-positive people and have been in self-isolation.

The remaining case is under investigation.

“They are not a known contact and are not directly linked to any exposure site but there is very close proximity to that exposure site and we are confident that the investigation that’s ongoing will uncover further crossover points,” the health minister said.

Mr Foley said the outbreak, which originated in hotel quarantine in South Australia, is “playing out a bit differently to earlier outbreaks”.

“There is evidence of casual acquisition instead of those in direct close contact like friends at a pub, family members,” he said.

The new cases bring the total number of active cases in the outbreak to 54.

Some 42,699 Victorians were tested in the 24 hours to this morning, while 20,484 were vaccinated.

There are more than 300 exposure sites linked to the outbreak and 4,000 close contacts self-isolating, of which about 80 per cent have returned negative tests.

Two new cases of COVID-19 were also recorded in hotel quarantine on today.