23 August 2021
As mentioned in yesterday’s update to you, in response to the risk of possible exposure of COVID-19 at Whiddon Kelso, we undertook COVID-19 testing of residents and employees as a precautionary measure.
This included initial testing of residents and employees considered as contacts. Pleasingly, late last night these tests all returned negative results. While we may need to conduct follow-up tests this week with these residents and employees, this is welcome news.
Out of an abundance of caution, we have also tested other employees at Whiddon Kelso who are at a much lower risk of exposure and are awaiting these results. For now, we continue to ensure that precautionary measures remain in place, such as employees wearing full PPE. We also continue to work closely with the local public health unit and have introduced rapid antigen testing for employees coming on shift.
Rapid antigen tests are on-the-spot screening tests that take ten ten-minutes to produce a result. Whiddon has been using these tests at our care homes in Greater Sydney since mid-July. More recently, we introduced them at our homes in Newcastle and the Far West of NSW. They add an important additional layer of protection and we welcome their use at Whiddon Kelso.
As always, we will provide a further update once we know more, but we do hope that this updates brings you some reassurance.
We understand that this is a difficult time. Our highest priority is to ensure your loved one is safe, well and supported and our teams are working hard to achieve this. We thank you for your understanding and support.