Rest homes have required visitors to take a rapid antigen test, though many are closing their doors to visitors completely as the Omicron outbreak surges. Photo / Chris Weissenborn
Rest homes have required visitors to take a rapid antigen test, though many are closing their doors to visitors completely as the Omicron outbreak surges. Photo / Chris Weissenborn
A quarter of residents and staff at an Auckland aged care facility have been infected with Covid-19.
So far, no one at Mercy Parklands in Ellerslie had been hospitalised as a result of the outbreak.
"It's a major stress," said Mercy Healthcare Auckland chair Arthur Morris. "It keeps management and governance people awake at night."
Morris said the company had plenty of time to prepare for Omicron and had put precautions in place.
"But with this thing being so transmissible - we didn't have a problem this time last week then seven days later we've got to this stage."
In all, 27 out of 91 residents at the facility had returned positive rapid antigen tests (RATS). And 25 out of 109 staff had tested positive. All staff and residents were vaccinated, with one exemption for medical reasons.
With some staff able to return on March 4 following isolation, it was able to keep the facility running without needing staffing support from the district health board.
The source of the outbreak at Mercy Parklands was not known, though it was assumed that it entered the rest home through a visitor or staff member.
The facility was now locked down, with no visitors allowed except for residents who were in their last days of life.
Staff were getting RATS every day before a shift, and residents were being tested daily if possible.
Nearly a quarter of residents at the 97-bed rest home Mercy Parklands have caught Covid-19. Photo / Google Streetview
Mercy Parklands is not alone. Rest homes and retirement villages across the country are locking down in response to the Omicron threat.
Ryman Healthcare said yesterday it was prohibiting visitors in its 38 retirement villages, except for those who needed to enter on compassionate grounds.
That step was taken as a precaution against an outbreak, rather than a response to positive cases, Ryman spokesman David King said.
Summerset has also only allowed visitors on compassionate grounds to its five Auckland rest homes since Sunday.
As part of preparations for an Omicron outbreak, 100 per cent of staff and residents in aged facilities received their booster vaccine by mid-February.
Under phase two of the Omicron response, testing was also bolstered for staff in these facilities. Staff members with symptoms were being prioritised for a PCR test to protect high risk residents.
Rest homes were also provided with RATs to test asymptomatic visitors.
