Dear Resident or Family Member,

Plan to restart visitation at Calvary Flora McDonald

I am pleased to inform you that the number of positive cases in the current COVID-19 outbreak at Calvary Flora McDonald is declining and we are able to further lift restrictions on residents’ movements in some areas, and open up in others.

We have also developed a visitor plan and hope to have visitors back in the coming days.

There are currently four (4) active cases of COVID-19 amongst residents at Flora McDonald, down from 11 cases at the time of our last update on Sunday. Of these, one (1) is in Brenda Keary, one (1) is in Mary McNamara, and two (2) are in Emmanuel Solomon.

To update you on the situation in these individual household units:

• Brenda Keary & Elizabeth Etheridge: We have completed three rounds of testing in Brenda Keary (and in Elizabeth Etheridge) since a positive case was identified in Brenda Keary last Friday, 14 January. No further cases have been identified in these units. Brenda Keary residents are having a Day-6 PCR test today. If there are no further cases found, we anticipate the outbreak in Brenda Keary will be closed next Tuesday, 25 January, and the outbreak in this unit declared over.

• Alexander Mackillop & Bert Edwards: The previously identified case in Alexander Mackillop has now recovered, and rapid antigen (RAT) testing yesterday of all residents in Alexander Mackillop and Bert Edwards did not identified any further cases. I’m pleased to say this area is now open. Residents are out of isolation and able to leave their rooms and move about the unit.

• Emmanuel Solomon & Mary McNamara: We are completing PCR testing in these units today. All residents that are negative will be released from isolation and be free to move around the area. We anticipate that if there are no additional cases, the outbreak in this area will be declared over on Sunday, 23 January.

Given that there are now three (3) green zones within Calvary Flora McDonald and cases are reducing, we have moved ahead with developing a visitor plan.

To ensure the safety of our residents and staff the following process will be in place for visiting:

• Appointments for visitation must be made via phone (8159 7000) with our administration team Monday to Friday 8.30am - 6pm

• A Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) must be performed prior to entry

• Visitors will be provided with a N95 mask and face shield, and for some areas gown and gloves

• All visits will be in resident’s rooms only

• We ask you to please avoid contact with our staff during your visit.

At this stage, due to difficulty with staffing, we are only able to facilitate visiting on the alternate days to when we undertake RAT testing for our staff.

The following appointment times are available for a single visitor only: 10am, 11am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm or 2.30pm. 

Numbers of visitors to the facility in each time slot will be limited so we can safely undertake testing and PPE preparation.

With this in place all residents will be able to have a weekly visit.

There will be a Zoom meeting for family members at 9:30am tomorrow to outline the visitor plan and discuss any concerns. The meeting options and details are as follows:

• Join the Zoom meeting at https://japara-au.zoom.us/j/84141235131. Meeting ID: 841 4123 5131.

• Dial-in to the meeting:  +61871501149. Meeting ID: 84141235131#

Sincerely,

Sharon Kendall, Regional CEO – SA & NT