Federal aged care minister says he’s ‘reluctant to have a public hit list’, saying smaller facilities cannot ‘handle a big media influx’
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The federal aged care minister and officials from the health department have refused to publicly release a list of aged care facilities in Victoria battling outbreaks of coronavirus because the homes are worried about “reputational issues” and could be overwhelmed by media interest.
Officials have also told a Senate committee examining the Morrison government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic that Canberra was unaware of the looming crisis at the St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner in Melbourne’s north for five days because the facility didn’t report the infections.
Continue reading…Federal aged care minister says he’s ‘reluctant to have a public hit list’, saying smaller facilities cannot ‘handle a big media influx’• Follow Tuesday’s Australia live blog• Melbourne’s stage 4 restrictions; Victoria stage 3 restrictions• Australian stats interactive; Vic cases map; NSW cases map• Sign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus emailThe federal aged care minister and officials from the health department have refused to publicly release a list of aged care facilities in Victoria battling outbreaks of coronavirus because the homes are worried about “reputational issues” and could be overwhelmed by media interest.Officials have also told a Senate committee examining the Morrison government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic that Canberra was unaware of the looming crisis at the St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner in Melbourne’s north for five days because the facility didn’t report the infections. Continue reading…