In this issue:
- DHHS COVID-19 Daily Update (see below)
- Mask distribution
- COVID-19 and population health in our community
- Updates for general practice
- Managing Telehealth Prescriptions
- Free access to resources on PracticeHub
- Updates for primary care providers
- NDIA Community Engagement Questionnaire
- Plan for people with disability
- Responses sought: Supporting people with disability during emergencies
- Updates for pharmacy
- Managing Telehealth Prescriptions
- Telehealth medication management reviews
Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Update |
Date issued: 22 April 2020
Issued by: Adjunct Clinical Professor Brett Sutton, Chief Health Officer
Issued to: Clinicians and the Victorian public
What's New?
Developments in the outbreak
- As of 22 April 2020, the total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victoria is 1,336 – no net increase from yesterday.
- This total does however reflect two new cases being added, and two existing cases being reclassified to another state as per protocol.
- 29 people are in hospital, including 12 people in intensive care. 15 people have died. 135 cases have an unknown source of infection, a decrease of 3 since yesterday. 1,243 people have recovered. More than 90,000 Victorians have been tested.
- Of the total 1,336 cases, there have been 1,057 in metropolitan Melbourne and 242 in regional Victoria. A number of cases remain under investigation.
- There have been 163 confirmed cases in healthcare workers (unchanged since yesterday), across at least 7 hospitals and 1 radiology clinic.
- A total of 44 cases are reported in people in mandatory hotel quarantine (unchanged since yesterday).
- The total number of cases in Australia is currently 6,645.
- Up-to-date epidemiological data is available on our website.
Current advice to clinicians
- Victoria’s public and private hospitals will begin doing more elective surgeries from next week.
- Category 2 and some category 3 elective surgeries will gradually resume from 27 April 2020.
- Surgeries that will be allowed include IVF procedures, post-cancer reconstruction procedures, eye procedures and cataracts, endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures, some dental procedures, joint replacements including knee, hip and shoulder and screening programs for cancer and other diseases. It also includes all procedures for children under the age of 18.
- The Department of Health and Human Services is working with health services and staff in both the private and public systems to assess their surgical capacity and ability to increase procedures, when it is safe to do so.
- Upon reopening, priority will be given to the patients of highest need, based on surgical advice of the hospital where the surgery is scheduled. Elective surgery patients should not call their hospitals but should wait until the hospital notifies them.
- Pregnant healthcare workers should be considered potentially vulnerable, particularly from 28 weeks gestation, and should be encouraged to follow the standard advice to protect themselves against COVID-19, such as good hand hygiene and physical distancing practices.
- Pregnant healthcare workers should also be encouraged to have the seasonal influenza vaccine, as this will help to prevent them and their baby from catching influenza.
For health alerts, epidemiological data and case numbers, see the DHHS website.