A new Ministry of Health report has found 167 healthcare and support workers contracted Covid-19 during the country’s first outbreak.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said today the report found that 17 health workers likely passed the virus onto the patients, and workers in aged care facilities were the most likely to contract it.
The report also found about 11 per cent of cases in the first wave, both confirmed and probable, were made up of healthcare workers, he said.
Meanwhile, 57 per cent of the healthcare professionals were likely to have been infected at work.
“The remainder [was] through overseas travel ... or they were infected in the community,” Bloomfield said.
He said improvements needed to be made given most infections happened in an aged residential care setting.
A number of reviews into aged residential care locations were underway, including an “ongoing work programme” with providers “to actually continue to improve the processes there”, Bloomfield said.
When pressed for details about what needed improvement, he said: “It’s around access to use of PPE when needed, but also cleaning and just the protocols if they do have a case in there.
“[It’s] about exactly what will happen to reduce any further onward transmission to other residents, to family members or to other staff members.”
SHARE ME