Victorian Premier Dan Andrews was advised by Australia’s chief medical officer to suspend elective surgeries last week to allow for the evacuation of elderly residents to hospital and the deployment of nurses to tackle the COVID-19 crisis but failed to act, prompting a tense phone call with the Prime Minister.
News.com.au has confirmed that Scott Morrison was forced to intervene and urged Mr Andrews to take action on Monday night and again this morning over the deadly spread of coronavirus in aged care homes.
The Victorian Premier finally relented and announced the move at a press conference today.
There are now 769 active cases linked to nursing homes in the state, with the majority of the rising death toll now affecting seniors living in aged care.
Professor Brendan Murphy, the nation‘s most senior COVID-19 policy adviser, also privately urged Victoria to stop all non urgent elective surgery last week.
The proposal was canvassed in the lead up to last Friday‘s national cabinet meeting but not formally discussed, as experts raised the alarm over the spread of the coronavirus among hundreds of elderly residents
