Bupa Traralgon COVID-19 outbreak closed

UPDATE Thursday 1 October 1pm

The COVID-19 outbreak at Bupa Traralgon is officially closed. Over the weekend the Public Health Unit confirmed the news following several rounds of negative testing and an ‘active surveillance’ period.

Bupa is proud of the way our Traralgon team handled the outbreak and the constant care and support they showed for our residents, and for each other.

We thank our residents and their loved ones for their patience and support over this challenging period.

UPDATE Wednesday 16 September 4pm

We are pleased to say Bupa Traralgon has had its status de-escalated by the local health authorities and the home is now in ‘active surveillance’.

The Traralgon team continues to closely monitor the health of all residents and remains diligent in their use of PPE and overall infection control measures.

We are grateful to our residents and their families for their support and patience during this time. We also thank our team for all of their amazing work and care.

UPDATE Monday 31 August 12pm

Over the weekend we advised our employees, residents and their relatives that one further team member has tested positive to COVID-19. We are in contact to offer our support while they isolate at home.

All residents have returned negative test results, but we continue to monitor their health closely and do everything possible to help minimise the spread of infection.

All residents and employees will now undergo further rounds of testing as directed by the Public Health Unit. Our team continue to provide dedicated care for our residents and we thank them and their families for their support.

UPDATE Friday 28 August 1pm

We are pleased that Bupa Traralgon has not recorded any positive cases in the care home since the last update.

Residents and employees were tested on Tuesday this week and we are awaiting a very small number of results, but so far all are negative.

UPDATE Tuesday 18 August 10am

Yesterday we shared the news with our residents and their relatives that one further resident of Bupa Traralgon has tested positive to COVID-19.

This resident is being cared for in the home’s dedicated COVID Care Unit.

Encouragingly, all other test results received yesterday were negative.

We again thank our dedicated staff for their hard work and dedication, our residents and their relatives for their kind words and offers of support.

UPDATE Friday 14 August 12pm

Yesterday we shared the upsetting news with our employees, residents and their relatives that sadly one of our Bupa Traralgon residents, who was COVID-19 positive, passed away. While we believe pre-existing conditions most likely contributed to their passing, this does not lessen our sadness at this time.

The resident’s family has given Bupa consent to share this news, but has asked for privacy, and we thank everyone for respecting those wishes. The thoughts and deepest sympathies of all of us at Bupa are with them at this time.

Earlier in the week, we let relatives know that another employee at Bupa Traralgon, who has been self-isolating at home since Monday 3 August, tested positive to COVID-19. The employee was isolating as they were identified as a close contact of an employee who had previously tested positive. They have not been in the care home for more than ten days. We are in contact with them to offer support during their recovery.

All residents and employees were tested again yesterday, and their relatives will be kept across the results as soon as they’re available.

UPDATE Wednesday 12 August 11am

Yesterday, we advised our residents and their relatives that sadly one more resident has tested positive to COVID-19 at Bupa Traralgon.

We are in contact with the resident’s family to discuss their care and offer our support. They are currently being cared for in the homes COVID-19 Care Unit which has been established as part of our Outbreak Management Plan to help separate COVID-positive residents from other residents in the home.

All other residents returned negative test results, but we continue to monitor their health closely.

We are still waiting on a number of employee results from Monday’s testing, but so far all received have been negative.

This news is extremely sad for all connected to our care home and we thank everyone for their support, patience and well wishes. Our team continues to work tirelessly and I’m proud of the way they continue to care for our residents and each other.

UPDATE Monday 10 August 3pm

We have now received all results from the most recent testing, and unfortunately one further team member has tested positive. We are in contact to offer our support while they isolate at home.

Yesterday’s planned testing for all residents and employees was postponed by the Public Health Unit and will instead take place today, Monday 10 August.

We will keep our employees, residents and their loved ones informed once we have results this week.

Our team continues to do everything possible to help minimise the spread of infection and support our residents during this challenging time.

UPDATE Sunday 9 August 10am

Unfortunately, this weekend we have had another three Bupa Traralgon employees test positive to COVID-19. We are in contact with them and are offering our support with their recovery while they isolate at home.

All residents and employees will now undergo another round of testing today.

Given how challenging this uncertainty can be on our residents and their relatives, we are also offering for relatives to care for their loved ones, who have tested negative to COVID-19, at the family home during this time if they would prefer. Of course, we will happily welcome them back once the outbreak is over.

While some families may choose this option, for those who remain in our care, we continue to do everything possible to eliminate this virus and minimise its impact as best we can. We will not stop working to protect our residents and employees.

UPDATE Saturday 8 August 10am

We have now received all resident test results from Thursday’s testing and unfortunately one further resident has tested positive.

We are in contact with the resident’s family, and have updated all our residents and their relatives.

All other resident results were negative, and all employee results received so far have also been negative. We are still waiting on some employee test results.

The resident is being treated in the home’s COVID-19 Care Unit, along with two other residents who had previously tested positive. This area is separate from other residents in the care home, and is staffed by dedicated members of the Bupa Traralgon team.

This is an extremely difficult time for all connected to the care home, and we thank the relatives for their kind words and offers of support throughout the past couple of weeks.

UPDATE Thursday 6 August

Following COVID-19 testing at Bupa Traralgon over the weekend, we have been in touch with our residents, their relatives and our employees to let them know that a further two team members have now tested positive.

Another team member, who has been self-isolating and hasn’t been in the care home for almost two weeks, also returned a positive test during this time.

We have been in contact with each of them to offer our support while they isolate at home. They will not return to the care home for at least two weeks from the date of their positive test, and on advice from the Public Health Unit.

While this news is difficult for all involved in the care home, our team is maintaining our strong focus on infection control including regular deep cleaning, separating of communities and the use of full personal protective equipment. We continue to monitor the health of all our residents closely.

All residents and employees will undergo further testing today, and we will be in touch with residents and their loved ones as soon as their results are available.

Again, we thank our residents, their relatives and our Bupa Traralgon team for their patience and support during this challenging time.

UPDATE Tuesday 4 August

Bupa can confirm that following the most recent round of testing, residents at its Traralgon aged care home have returned two further results positive to COVID-19.

The residents are currently being cared for in the home’s COVID-19 Care Unit, away from other residents. We are in contact with their family and GP to ensure they are receiving the right care.

We’ve also let all residents, their loved ones and our employees know of the test results.

The team at Bupa Traralgon has been working tirelessly to care for residents under extremely difficult circumstances. We are proud of the way they have stepped up to the challenge and the dedication they continue to show to caring for our residents and each other.

We also thank our residents’ loved ones who continue to offer their patience, support and words of kindness to our team.

UPDATE Monday 3 August

We have now received the resident and employee results from the second round of COVID-19 testing at Bupa Traralgon and unfortunately one additional resident has tested positive. All other results were negative.

The resident is currently being cared for in the home’s COVID-19 Care Unit, away from other residents. We are in contact with their family and GP to ensure they are receiving the right care.

We’ve also let all residents, their loved ones and our employees know of the test results.

All residents and employees underwent a third round of testing yesterday, Sunday 2 August. We expect to have these results in the next couple of days.

The team at Bupa Traralgon has been working tirelessly to care for residents under extremely difficult circumstances. We are proud of the way they have stepped up to the challenge and the dedication they continue to show to caring for our residents and each other.

We also thank our residents’ loved ones who continue to offer their patience, support and words of kindness to our team.

UPDATE Tuesday 28 July 

We have now received all employee and resident test results and are pleased to confirm there have been no further positive results recorded.

All residents and employees will undergo another round of testing on Thursday this week.

We continue to monitor the health of all our residents closely while we wait for the next round of testing.

UPDATE Monday 27 July 11am

Following testing of all residents and employees at Bupa Traralgon, we have been in touch with relatives of the home to confirm that one resident and one employee have tested positive to COVID-19.

We have now received the majority of results and all others received so far have been negative.

The resident has been transferred to hospital following discussions with their relatives and GP who we are in close contact with. We are also supporting the employee while they self-isolate.

We are continuing to maintain strict infection control procedures within the home including increased cleaning and wearing full personal protective equipment.

All residents and employees will undergo a second round of testing later this week.

This is an extremely difficult time for all involved with our care home and we thank them for their ongoing patience and support.

UPDATE Wednesday 22 July

COVID-19 testing to occur at Bupa Traralgon

A health professional who last visited the Bupa Traralgon aged care home on Thursday 16 July has tested positive to COVID-19.

They did not have any symptoms at the time.

As a precaution, all residents and employees will be tested for COVID-19 in the coming days.

We have activated our Outbreak Management Plan and are working closely with the Public Health Unit and Commonwealth Department of Health to take necessary steps to protect their health and safety.

This includes deep cleaning of the home, employees continuing to wear personal protective equipment, as they have been for several weeks and separating communities within the home.

We have updated relatives of the home and we thank them for their support and patience during this unsettling time.

Watch this video to learn more on Bupa’s COVID-19 Outbreak Management Plan.