New #covid19vic outbreak in hospital.
Now would be a great time to hear about what is being done in hospitals for infection control, including ventilation studies.
It would be a great time, because we are out of time.
In the mean time, #dropthehammer on cluster management.
I just want to say the word 'time' one more time, because I feel I didn't say it enough in the first tweet.....
....
...
..
.
time.
Ask their household members to isolate. Pay them serious coin if you have to. Test them on Day 5 and 11, cos we know isolation is not perfect.
Ask ALL their casual contacts to get tested too. It'll be what, 1000 people? nothing.
Victorian Gov can't come out and claim that Covid leaks out in larger families due to difficulty of isolation, but then
a) not check for the leaks (hello day 5 testing)
b) stop the leaks (supported 3rd degree isolation). That was a good observation by CHO. Let's act on it.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
@leighsales
Comparing NSW to VIC now is a bit tricky - Both states are achieving similar case numbers, but Vic is worse than it looks right now, barely achieving the same result with lockdowns. Open up = drastically worse. RE: what is truly unique about Vic vs NSW approach -
No doubt Vic contact tracing was inadequate, likely due to a highly centralised structure of DHHS vs localised health model NSW. Lack of local knowledge and inefficiency come with this.
And although our CHO is highly competent, despite same job title as his interstate counterparts, did not have same rank in hierarchy.
1) The staff infected at Box Hill on the covid ward - were their masks fit-tested ????
2) Box hill outbreak - staff are confused by messaging re: testing. They've heard 'all staff at the facility will be tested' publicly, while internal memos tell ask not to get tested unless they spent >29 min on ward/work regularly on the ward/direct contact w confirmed case
2 contd:)
Specific quote attributable to anonymous senior staff member "should i go to work as planned as I have been told not to test as have most of BHH staff. Yet you say we will be tested first".
We've had 1 opening question & almost 12 follow ups q at the presser about 'who hired the private guards' now.
I'm not saying it's not worth asking.
I'm just saying we're on knife's edge re: #covid19vic control, and maybe the 1st q should be what will you do to stop transmission.
Ask them why every person who has stepped foot onto the ward at the hospital outbreak isn't getting tested, not just the regular staff members/those who've spent > 30 min on there.
Ask them why we aren't testing even more casual contacts when we have slack in the system.
Ask them what their model is about 3 degrees of isolation - how do we balance making it effective, acceptable, humane and sustainable, without deterring people from electing themselves as contacts, and also not incentivising them to falsely say they are contacts.
Dear journos, a q for presser: 1/ "Re the hospital outbreak, CHO said all workers at the facility are being tested. Is it true this only includes staff in direct contact with confirmed cases + those who've spent >30 min on the ward? Should criteria be loosened?" #covidvic#auspol
follow up? "Given that we do not have strain on testing (resources/turnaround times), and that this could be a highly infectious outbreak (staff infected despite masks), is there a harm in testing more widely if it means a few extra hundred tests?"
2/ Assuming a/the infectious patient is still at the hospital,, the staff who are looking after them, have they been through quantitative fit testing for the P2/N95 masks they are wearing? #covid19vic