Today, eight residents at Amana Living’s St George’s Care Centre in Bayswater tested positive for COVID-19.

This follows positive COVID test results from seven staff who worked while infectious over the past seven days.

The facility is currently closed to all visitors, and the outbreak management plan has been activated to ensure the safety of all residents and staff. The centre is prioritising testing all residents as well as staff who have worked at the facility this week; and identifying anyone at the site who may have been close contacts.

Amana Living has contacted all St George’s Care Centre staff, residents and families to advise them of the situation, and is working closely with Health authorities.

Amana Living CEO, Stephanie Buckland said they are monitoring the situation closely to ensure all close contacts are identified.

“Our priority is supporting staff and residents at St George’s Care Centre. While the care centre is closed to visitors today, we expect to welcome back limited visitors tomorrow for the well-being of the residents.

“We are expecting Clinipath to attend the site tomorrow to carry out PCR tests, which are more accurate than rapid antigen tests,” Ms Buckland said.

“We are confident in our staff and our procedures. The health and safety of both our residents and staff remains our highest priority, so we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure this.”

Amana Living is following guidelines from the public health authorities to ensure the latest infection control measures are being taken. All staff have been issued with additional personal protective equipment.