Canberra, July 25 (IANS) The Australian government has extended military support for the Covid-hit aged care sector. On Monday, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) deployment into aged care facilities has been extended until the end of September, reports Xinhua news agency. It comes as more than 900 aged care centers are combating Covid-19 outbreaks, with more than 6,000 residents and 3,000 staff currently infected.”It’s important that we need to be doing everything we can to meet the challenge,” Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television. “It’s not just extending the military support to aged care, it’s actually increasing it up to 250 personnel through until the end of September.” According to the Aged and Community Care Providers Association, more than 2,000 aged care residents have died from Covid-19 in 2022 alone, accounting for more than 20 percent of Australia’s total deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The decision reflects the seriousness of the Omicron variant’s high community transmission rates and the challenges faced by aged care homes, as a result, said Marles. The ADF has provided- ed clinical and non-clinical support to aged care homes hit by Covid-19 related staff- ing shortages since February this year.
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said the sector was struggling to find enough staff. “We simply cannot find the staff,” she said on Monday.
