SYDNEY: Australia's federal government will offer extra payments to aged care staff as over 1,200 nursing homes deal with COVID-19 outbreaks that have caused hundreds of deaths of elderly residents this year and staff shortages.
The operator of a major aged care network, Baptistcare, has warned thousands of residents were locked down in rooms, unable to receive visits from family, amid staffing shortages. "None of our health outcomes would be possible without the hard work, long hours and dedicated care offered by our frontline health and aged care workforce," Morrison said in a statement.The payment boost to aged care came on the same day a widely watched poll found voter confidence in Morrison's ability to lead the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic had fallen behind the opposition Labour leader.