As Melbourne grapples with daily triple-figure rises in coronavirus cases, experts are referring to how Tasmania dealt with its deadly COVID-19 outbreak in April. So what lessons were learnt?
As millions of people in greater Melbourne cope with a renewed lockdown and escalating COVID-19 cases, residents of Tasmania's north-west would have a fairly good idea of how they're feeling.Victorian health authorities are following a similar response model in Greater MelbourneThe region endured weeks of lockdown under what were at the time Australia's strictest restrictions, after an outbreak in a Burnie hospital.
"Because [the Tasmanian outbreak] was inside a hospital it was relatively easier to track or contact and identify who was exposed and put a stop to the epidemic, it did not take off substantially in the community," she said. "There are really four big pillars, which is case management, epidemiology, logistics, and risk communications and community engagement," he said.opinion article published on the Victorian health department's website,
"Clearly it was [successful] because the number of cases died right down and you haven't had any new cases for a long time," he said.We asked scientists what to do about the Victorian border. They had a surprising answer The director of the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Professor Alison Venn, says the Tasmanian outbreak demonstrated the need to provide support to people to help them comply with public health advice and restrictions.
Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth says every outbreak in Australia so far has provided lessons. Dr Coatsworth said the success of most Australian states and territories in suppressing or eliminating COVID-19 cases meant they could afford to offer resources to help in the Victorian outbreak.
When responding to an outbreak, communications have to be adapted to the language, culture and beliefs of affected communities, and asking community leaders to help shape those public health messages is vital.
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