New Alert – Easing of Restrictions across Melbourne

Belvedere welcomes Premier Daniel Andrew’s announcement on Sunday 27^th September that Melbourne is on track to suppressing the Covid-19 virus. Easing of restrictions commencing this week provides great reassurance that our collective efforts are proving effective in managing and restricting the spread of the virus.

As a residential aged care facility, we have worked extremely hard to maintain a COVID-free status. We thank our staff, all families and loved ones of residents in our care for their patience, diligence and respect of our visitation protocols. This has no doubt been an emotional and challenging time for us all. We are greatly humbled by the messages of support and encouragement provided to our staff – thank you.

News that the majority of new cases are linked to Aged Care is deeply concerning. We must acknowledge the risks in easing our own restrictions too quickly whilst the community adjusts to reopening. What we don’t want is complacency that challenges our goal to open up safely and hence, results in a 3^rd wave across our sector. We must learn from the experiences of the last 6 months to ensure we move in the right direction.

We are determined and continue to operate with a high level of alert. Implementing our zoning and cohorting strategies familiarise all our staff and residents of new ways to navigate freely yet securely within their designated zones. The design of our facility allows us to zone without compromising our residents’ peer interactions, daily activities and lifestyle needs. Their dignity and care remain our utmost priority. Establishing our zones prepares us to respond quickly and confidently in the event of an outbreak.

Throughout the week we will continue to observe the Premier’s and Chief Health Officer’s announcements and directives, including local information; infection rates in the southeastern suburbs and how this may impact our decision-making as we work and assess our own roadmap and the key requirements to manage risks. Again, our ultimate goal is to keep our residents safe.

To all families and loved ones of our residents, we look forward to communicating our roadmap to easing restrictions end of this week as part of our weekly updates with you.

Please continue to call or email us to book your non-contact visits. New face masks rules are now in place – please ensure that you wear a face mask at all times when visiting our facility. This includes the addition of a face mask to wearing a face shield.

Changes taking effect from the 28th September can be found on the DHHS website.

To access the latest directives and advice in your preferred language, visit the Victorian Multicultural Commissioner website