If Victoria is such a great place why are the always travelling around, and Victorians are different people than NSWelshians.
There is a whole raft of mistakes made by all governments, starting with the belief that Covid was not aerosol carried, and hotel quarantine good enough, to the slow roll out of vaccines etc...the government was forewarned a inevitable pandemic is going to happen.
Time to stop the politicking and work together.
our government hasn't made coronavirus mistakes.
It was also known from the beginning as BOTH airbourne and droplet transmitted the virus. Viruses are in ALL bodily fluid.
You need to watch more news.
I think it is fair to say that at the beginning, droplet and contact was thought to be the main mechanism rather than being able to linger in the air for as long as it turned out to be the case.
Remember it was: "Wash your hands" and "keep your distance" at the beginning.
Face masks were not compulsory either in the beginning.
p.s.
Went back to the WHO initial response guide to COVID 19 from back in March 2020 ...
No mention of airborne transmission, it was all about contact and droplet measures.
Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities in the Context of COVID-19: interim guidance
-3-
Prospective surveillance for visitors should be established:
• All visitors should be screened before being allowed
to see residents, including for fever, respiratory
illness and if they have had recent contact with
someone infected with COVID-19.
• Visitors with fever or any respiratory illness should
be denied access to the facility.
• Visitors with significant risk factors for COVID-19
(close contact to a confirmed case, recent travel to
an area with community transmission [applies only
to those areas that do not have current community
transmission] should be denied access to the facility.
Source control (care for the COVID-19 patient
and prevention of onward transmission)
If a resident is suspected to have, or is diagnosed with,
COVID-19, the following steps should be taken:
• Notify local authorities about any suspected case
and isolate residents with onset of respiratory
symptoms.
• Place a medical mask on the resident and on others
staying in the room.
• Ensure that the patient is tested for COVID-19
infection according to local surveillance policies and
if the facility has the ability to safely collect a
biological specimen for testing.
• Promptly notify the patient and appropriate public
health authorities if the COVID-19 test is positive.
• WHO recommends that COVID-19 patients be
cared for in a health facility, in particular patients
with risk factors for severe disease which include
age over 60 and those with underlying
co-morbidities (see Clinical management of severe
acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID19 disease is suspected). A clinical assessment is
required by a medical professional with respect to
disease severity, for the potential patient transfer to
an acute health facility. If this is not possible or
indicated, confirmed patients can be isolated and
cared for at the LTCF.
• Employees should use contact and droplet
precautions (see below) when tending to the resident,
entering the room, or when within 1 m of the resident.
• If possible, move the COVID-19 patient to a single
room.
• If no single rooms are available, consider cohorting
residents with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
– Residents with suspected COVID-19 should be
cohorted only with other residents with
suspected COVID-19; they should not be
cohorted with residents with confirmed
COVID-19.
– Do not cohort suspected or confirmed patients
next to immunocompromised residents.
• Clearly sign the rooms by placing IPC signs,
indicating droplet and contact precautions, at the
entrance of the room.5
• Dedicate specific medical equipment
(e.g. thermometers, blood pressure cuff, pulse
oximeter, etc.) for the use of medical professionals
for resident(s) with suspected or confirmed
COVID-19.
• Clean and disinfect equipment before re-use with
another patient.6
• Restrict sharing of personal devices (mobility
devices, books, electronic gadgets) with other
residents.
Precautions and personal protective equipment (PPE)
When providing routine care for a resident with suspected or
confirmed COVID-19, contact precaution and droplet
precautions should be practiced. Detailed instructions on
precautions for COVID-19 are available.
• PPE should be put on and removed carefully
following recommended procedures to avoid
contamination.
• Hand hygiene should always be performed before
putting on and after removing PPE.
• Contact and droplet precautions include the
following PPE: medical mask, gloves, gown, and
eye protection (goggles or face shield).
• Employees should take off PPE just before leaving
a resident’s room.
• Discard PPE in medical waste bin and preform hand
hygiene.
When caring for any residents with suspected or confirmed
COVID-19 practice contact plus airborne precautions during
any aerosol-generating procedures (e.g. tracheal suctioning,
intubation; refer to Infection prevention and control during
health care). Airborne precautions include the use of N95,
FFP2, or FFP3 respirators or equivalent level mask, gloves,
gown and eye protection (goggles or face shield). Note: use
N95 mask only if the LTCFs has a programme to regularly
fit-test employees for the use of N95 masks.
Cleaners and those handling soiled bedding, laundry, etc.,
should wear PPE, including mask, gloves, long sleeve gowns,
goggles or face shield, and boots or closed toe shoes. They
should perform hand hygiene before putting on and after
removing PPE.
Environmental cleaning and disinfection
Hospital-grade cleaning and disinfecting agents are
recommended for all horizontal and frequently touched
surfaces (e.g., light switches, door handles, bed rails, bed
tables, phones) and bathrooms being cleaned at least twice
daily and when soiled.
Visibly dirty surfaces should first be cleaned with a detergent
(commercially prepared or soap and water) and then a
hospital-grade disinfectant should be applied, according to
manufacturers’ recommendations for volume and contact
time. After the contact time has passed, the disinfectant may
be rinsed with clean water.
If commercially prepared hospital-grade disinfectants are not
available, the LTCFs may use a diluted concentration of
bleach to disinfect the environment. The minimum
concentration of chlorine should be 5000 ppm or 0.5%
(equivalent to a 1:9 dilution of 5% concentrated liquid
bleach).8
You can download the .pdf file from that time.
www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-IPC-long-term-care-2020-1