Premier Daniel Andrews has criticised an aged care facility in Melbourne’s east for allowing staff to remove their PPE during a centre party.
Video has emerged of the event, inside AdventCare Whitehorse in Nunawading, where staff and residents were seen dancing and mingling closely together.
Mr Reece told Today he was comfortable with how the event played out.
He claimed staff put their PPE back on immediately after the performance ended.
But Mr Andrews made it clear he did not think the removal of personal protective equipment was appropriate.
“I am not here to quarrel with the CEO of that facility, but I have seen comments from him talking about the fact that it was a closed event and only people who lived there and work there were involved but, frankly, staff do not live there, they live in the community and we have community transmission so I do not know that is the best rebuttal,” he said today.
“We all have to be vigilant and aged care is and will remain for the foreseeable future a high-risk environment.”
Police told Today they had not received any formal complaints about the event inside the aged care facility.
Mr Andrews warned aged care facilities were “very risky places” with majority of the state’s COVID-19 deaths linked to outbreaks in aged care.
He said there were “underlying risks” in private aged care, but its operation was outside the Victorian government’s jurisdiction.
“We do not run those places. I do not pay the staff, they are not accountable to me, but we will be checking and monitoring and making sure every aged care facility is as safe as possible,” he said.
“When the second wave is over, the virus will still be there, bubbling away and even one case in aged care facilities can be tragic.”
Source: 9News
