COVID-19 outbreak at Kellock Lodge

KELLOCK Lodge is currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, with 16 out of its 45 residents struck down with the disease, along with 13 of its 65 staff. Many of the staff at the facility are part time employees. The early cases are now on day seven, so improvement is expected moving forward.

Of the residents at the aged care facility, 40 are fully vaccinated and five have chosen not to be vaccinated.

Robert Jarman, the new CEO of Kellock Lodge, explained that they applied to the Commonwealth Government for a COVID-19 surge workforce. They have been provided with about 12 staff, including registered nurses, enrolled nurses and personal care attendants.

Mr Jarman said, “We wouldn’t have been able to remain open without that. Late last week, when we got to the Friday, I think we only had something like 10 local staff available, and so we were very fortunate in that the surge staff started arriving here on the Saturday morning.”

From the initial request, it took around 36 hours for the surge staff to start arriving. They have been secured for a fortnight. Many are Melbourne-based, and they are staying in local hotels during their stay.

During the outbreak, Kellock Lodge has been shut to the general public, however residents can have one visitor per day between 9am and 5pm. The visitors must wear full PPE, including gown, goggles, masks and gloves. Visitors generally understand the requirement.

Residents have been restricted to their own rooms, however they are encouraged to use the internal courtyards in the facility. It’s also well known that transmission of the disease is much lower outdoors.

Mr Jarman started in the role on September 19, and said that he’s settled in pretty well. “The priority at the moment is making sure that the residents are safe and comfortable.”

The Kellock Lodge AGM is coming up on Friday, November 19, but this may be varied depending on the circumstances. People keen to attend should confirm the details via Kellock’s Facebook page beforehand.