“Horrific”: 13th resident at Newmarch House dies from COVID-19
<p>Another resident has died at the Newmarch House aged care facility in Western Sydney after contracting coronavirus. The pandemic death toll at the facility now stands at 13 after a staff member caused an outbreak and worked six shifts despite having mild coronavirus symptoms.</p>
<p>The outbreak started three weeks ago and since then, there are now 59 confirmed cases at the facility in Caddens, with 37 residents and 22 staff testing positive.</p>
<p>Anglicare, the centre’s operator, had a spokesperson confirm that the resident passed away yesterday afternoon and said that the new cases might be “historical transmissions”.</p>
<p>"This is a time of great grief for the family and we want to extend our deepest sympathies," Anglicare said in a statement.</p>
<p>"The coronavirus has had a devastating impact on all our residents and families."</p>
<p>"We will be investigating further how this has occurred."</p>
<p>Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-01/thirteenth-newmarch-house-resident-dies-of-coronavirus/12202592" target="_blank">ABC</a></em><span> </span>that the situation at Newmarch House is “horrific” and has called for the Federal Government to intervene.</p>
<p>"The Federal Government [has] involved the Aged Care Assurance Advocacy Association to deal with the matter," she said.</p>
<p>"Because what's happening there isn't acceptable and unfortunately you do notice a difference in the way people who run these aged care homes across the nation are dealing with the issue.</p>
<p>"This particular operator has been left wanting on a number of levels."</p>
<p>Anglicare CEO Grant Millard previously told the ABC that the aged care home had become a “pseudo hospital” since the beginning of the outbreak and explained that staff were doing it tough by undertaking 12 hour shifts in full personal protective equipment.</p>
<p>"What a brave, courageous group of people," he said.</p>
<p>Anglicare has also faced extreme backlash about a lack of communication with families, with many claiming that the phones were hardly ever answered.</p>
<p>Mr Millard said these criticisms were "to an extent … true".</p>
<p>"We have been under extreme pressure."</p>
