Two Illawarra aged care facilities have been listed among those with the highest COVID-19 death tolls since the start of the year, as the virus continues to hit the sector hard.
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According to a new list from the United Workers Union, Warrigal Mount Terry - which had 10 deaths - and Warrigal Albion Park - which had five - have had some of the highest death tolls across the country since January.
They are among 38 aged care facilities which recorded five or more deaths this year, and the Mount Terry facility is among just eight which recorded deaths in the double figures.
The latest COVID-19 aged care figures from the Federal Government also show there are five active outbreaks in Illawarra facilities, with the worst located at the Garrawarra Centre where dozens of staff and residents have been infected and two residents have died.
There have been 33 Garrawarra residents who have contracted the virus in the outbreak, along with 38 staff.
At Warrigal Wollongong, 16 residents and two staff have had COVID-19, while while Uniting Berry has had seven resident cases and four staff cases.
Uniting Gerringong has had one resident case, as has Hammond Care Horsley.
Estia Health Figtree also recorded a death during a recent outbreak, which stopped being listed as active last week, and 32 residents and 10 staff were affected.
According to the UWU, Omicron is still killing more than 60 aged care residents across the country a week, with 596 facilities nationally recording at least one death due to COVID-19 this year.
The federal government report shows 1418 deaths have been reported by aged care providers so far in 2022, accounting for about one in four of COVID-19 deaths in Australia.
"The Omicron crisis continues to play havoc with active outbreaks in more than 750 aged care facilities, distressing locked-up aged care residents, devastating families and causing unbearable workloads for aged care workers," Carolyn Smith, Aged Care Director, United Workers Union, said.
"There is a public perception the Omicron wave has passed but for aged care workers working double shifts in full PPE there has been no let up and the aged care crisis is in full swing."
"How can we lose more than 350 senior Australians to COVID since the election campaign was launched and no-one is talking about this?"
Warrigal CEO Mark Sewell said the Omicron wave that hit in December and January, just as the public restrictions eased, was devastating to older people in aged care across Australia.
"It was made worse by the superspreader events of Christmas and New Year and the national delays in vaccinations," he said.
He said Warrigal had had some recent outbreaks with the onset of colder weather but had "very good infection control procedures" to keep people safe.
"Visitor restrictions are not being imposed as much as they were last year and we all need to remember that our oldest people across our community are still at highest risk especially as the community thinks the pandemic over," Mr Sewell said.
"We are unlikely to have the high death rates we had before as vaccination rates are very high now."
Mr Sewell said all visitors to aged care, and older people at home who have medical complications, should apply good hygiene practices and get all the vaccinations they can, including their second booster and the flu shot too.
"These decisions save lives," he said.
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