The boss of an Albury aged care facility is backing health authority calls for Border residents to minimise unnecessary movements around the community to slow the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Albury's Lutheran Aged Care managing director Wendy Rocks said she was "absolutely" encouraging the community to minimise their movements.
"I have sent that out to families, I write to them every week and encourage them to do the same and the staff have all been receiving regular information messages from our HR to that effect as well, to really be careful," she said.
"There are a lot of exposure sites and even though our staff are fully vaccinated and our residents are fully vaccinated it's pretty clear that vulnerable people who live in aged care homes, and they often have a lot of other medical issues, are very vulnerable still to getting seriously ill."
Ms Rocks said 42 staff had been tested due to the being at exposure sites and Lutheran Aged Care had just started rapid antigen testing every three days as an extra precaution.
"Fortunately all the tests that have come back so far have been negative but it's very chancy," she said.
When asked whether she thought it was just a matter of time before COVID-19 got into another Albury aged care home Ms Rocks said she hated to think so.
"But I think that's why this message is so important to get out there, because at the minute keeping our residents safe is absolutely our highest priority," she said.
"I wouldn't like to be a doomsday-sayer and say it's only a matter of time, but I did think it was only a matter of time before it came to Albury.
"It's hard.
"[People are] really just trying to live their lives, they're trying to be conscious of what they're doing, but there is just so much going around."
Ms Rocks said families of aged care residents across the Border shouldn't be too anxious.
"Try not to be too anxious, we are doing everything we can," she said.
"We've been meeting with Murrumbidgee Health and Albury Wodonga Health for two years now preparing, so I think there's a reasonable network of support available locally."
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