COVID-19 arrived in Melbourne and significantly hits health care workers and older adults

After preparing our health care services for ‘the’ #covid19 #wave in March, we were lucky that the ‘wave’ we expected, turned out to be a soft motion compared to what #Melbourne is currently facing.

By closing the boarders we were joining New Zealand preparing to be the COVID-19 free zone on earth, Australasia. It turned out differently; we were recently hit by outbreaks very close to my hospitals, in towers serving for vulnerable groups of our society and in nursing homes. Since then we are the epicentre of COVID-19 in #Australia. To serve the needs of #nursing homes residents, we turned our subacute beds into COVID-19 wards. Only a couple days later our own #patients on other wards and health care professionals returned COVID-19 positive test results.

Over 100 health care professionals in my division are furloughed (being in quarantine for 14 days, lots of them residing in hotel accommodations). We, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, currently care for more than 40% of all COVID-19 positive patients in Australia. I am so grateful for all staff members putting their hands up to work on our #frontline! Thank you!

A special thanks to my international network, taking my phone calls on weekends, to learn from your experiences, your advice is highly valued.

We are now preparing the #eHealth based public health response building #virtual #hospitals and continue preventative strategies; boarders remain closed (I miss you dear friends), masks are on faces of every Victorian citizen and screening clinics are constantly open to track and contain the #virus.

Thanks you Maria, RMH dialysis, for the lovely cookies, they made my day!