Australia may use defence forces to help Covid-hit aged-care sector
Gulf Times
An Australian Defence Force member watches over a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination clinic at the Bankstown Sports Club as the city experiences an extended lockdown, in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2021.
Australia could use its defence forces to help manage a Covid-19 outbreak in the aged-care sector that has stretched staffing and forced many homes into lockdowns, the prime minister said on Friday as national infection numbers remained on a downtrend.
The government has come under pressure over the spread of the Omicron variant in aged-care homes, with Richard Colbeck, minister for senior Australians and aged care services, drawing criticism after he attended a cricket match instead of appearing before a parliamentary committee looking into the outbreaks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had asked the ministers of defence and health to see how defence forces could support care homes, where many staff have had to isolate because of infections.
Morrison said about 560 aged-care residents had died since Omicron hit in late 2021.
