Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. According to Mr Morrison, Kalyna Care notified the Department of Health it had a positive COVID-19 outbreak on 27 July and testing of residents and staff commenced the next day. On what date was the testing of all residents and staff completed?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't have a detailed brief on the times of each of the testing cycles. When an outbreak is advised, we send a first responder nurse in immediately to assess the site. We also send our Sonic Healthcare teams in to commence testing both residents and staff. But because not all staff are rostered on the same day and they come in over cycles, sometimes it does take a couple of days to complete the testing of all the staff.

I'm very happy to bring that information back to the chamber. I think it's a fair question; it's an appropriate question. But I don't have the detailed information with respect to the testing cycles of all the staff members and when that information has come back. I'm happy to provide that on notice to the chamber.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, a supplementary question.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the same answer, the Prime Minister said that a surge workforce was provided to Kalyna Care on 31 July. Who was staffing Kalyna Care from 27 July until the surge workforce was provided four days later?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When the outbreak first occurred and when the epidemiology of the outbreak was being undertaken, the facility was providing its own staffing until it came to the stage where we understood who had tested positive and what the staff shortages were, and when the assessments of the site had been completed. That process started on day one. The close contacts of the initial staff member were tracked and traced. With the understanding of who the close contacts were and who the positive staff members were, staff were progressively furloughed from the site and the surge workforce was brought in to compensate for the loss of staff through the furloughing of those people.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, a further supplementary question.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How many staff and how many residents at Kalyna Care tested positive to COVID-19 in the four days between 27 July and 31 July?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't have the list of the initial testing. My understanding of what occurred at that site is that there was a progressive testing of positives over a period of time. That is a function of COVID-19; different people incubate at different times. So there has been a progressive growth in the number of positives in both staff and residents, purely because of the function of the virus. People don't incubate at the same rate. It may be that you're tested today and test negative, and two days later, which is the cycle under which we test—we test every 72 hours—you might not test positive to the second or third test, given that there's an incubation period of up to 14 days for COVID-19.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong on a point of order.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order: I would ask that the minister do the right thing and come in at the end of question time to answer the three questions he was unable to answer. I think that would be a courtesy to the chamber.