Covid-19 Preparedness

Benetas has strong processes in place to ensure we are prepared as we face this recent outbreak of Covid-19 in the community. We are pleased to advise that as at 31 May 2021, residents at all of our 14 homes have received their first dose of the vaccine. Ten out of the 14 homes have had both doses with the remaining four to be completed within the next two weeks. Uptake by residents has been strong – with at least four out of five residents at all homes receiving the vaccine.

We continue to support employees to receive the vaccination with numbers rising every day and numerous initiatives in place to speed up the process. For example we have initiated weekly asymptomatic Covid-19 testing of all employees in our metropolitan homes and fortnightly testing of employees in our regional homes.

Benetas continues to review and monitor our practices. We remain diligent in our infection prevention and control measures. We are confident that we are doing all we can to manage this current situation in our community and would like to thank all of clients, residents, families and representatives for their continued support.

27 May 2021

The Victorian Acting Premier advised on Thursday 27 May that from 11:59pm on Thursday 27 May to 11.59pm June 3, the whole of Victoria will enter a seven day ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown in response to the current outbreak of a highly infectious strain of coronavirus (COVID-19).

There will only be five reasons to leave your home, which are for necessary goods and services, for caregiving or compassionate reasons, for exercise (maximum 2 hours a day), for essential work or permitted education, and to get vaccinated (this is a new condition added to the previous 4 approved reasons to leave home).

There is a 5km limit on movement from your home, with some exceptions.

Face masks must be worn everywhere except in your own home, unless an exemption applies. The face mask requirement applies to everyone aged 12 years and older.

In addition, aged care visitor restrictions will also now apply state-wide. This means, our residential aged care homes will be closed to visitors, except for end of life reasons or other limited exceptions.

Please contact the home to discuss your personal situation if you have any concerns. We will continue to monitor the Department of Health and Human Services website and will update this page as soon as further information is confirmed.

Information about the latest announcement can be found at https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/statement-acting-premier-1 or https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/

We also welcome the Department of Health's COVID-19 Vaccination Program announcement that from Friday 28 May, the Pfizer vaccine will be available for all people aged 40-49 and encourage informed involvement by all those in our community. Please find more details below.

Benetas greatly welcomes the Australian Government’s rollout of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program for all aged care residents, employees and volunteers as a matter of priority. You can read more about the roll out of the vaccine across our homes and services.

Benetas Board Director, Dr Michael Murray AM, is Director of Geriatric Medicine and his wife, Dr Mary O’Reilly, is Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Austin Health. In this video, they answer questions we’ve been receiving from employees, residents, clients and families about the COVID-19 vaccination program.

In their second video, Dr Michael Murray AM and Dr Mary O’Reilly address the concerns we have been hearing about the very slim potential side effect of blood clots after having the

Older Australians have access to a dedicated free call service to support the mental health of those affected by the spread of COVID-19. The phone line is staffed by advisers who can offer practical help and advice and is a partnership between OPAN, COTA and National Seniors Australia.

Call 1800 171 866 from Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm (except public holidays).

The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing, supported by Benetas, has also launched the Multilingual Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line.

The support line is funded by the Australian Department of Health, and is an Australia-wide initiative that provides in-language information and support associated with COVID-19, and referrals to appropriate services and programs for older Australians from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The support line is available in Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin and Vietnamese. All calls are free, 2:00pm - 5:00pm (Melbourne time) Monday to Fridays (except public holidays).

If you have any further questions or feedback please contact Covid19Enquiries@benetas.com.au.