NEWS DESK
COVID pain bad for businesses
Nippers event swept away by COVID PORTSEA Surf Life Saving Club’s Nippers Program due to finish last Thursday and Friday (6 and 7 January) became the latest victim of COVID cancellations on Wednesday. The club announced that the last two days of the Nippers program would not go ahead because many families and volunteers had been impacted by the rapid rise in COVID infections across the Mornington Peninsula. A spokesperson said the “tough” decision was made to cancel the rest of the seven-day program because all available volunteers would be required for beach patrol, and some had already been forced to isolate due to positive cases, either in the family or friendship groups. Fears are running high that more community events will suffer the same fate as the virus continues to spread. On Wednesday, a record 401 new
COVID cases were recorded across the peninsula, bringing the number of cases to 3862, of which 1087 were active. More than 600 youngsters had signed up to take to the water at the Quarantine Station at Point Nepean National Park and at the Portsea back beach. The club’s Nippers program teaches beach safety and live-saving skills and is the biggest Nippers program in the state. Club captain Jess Lamb said water safety was paramount for children and water safety had never been more important given the disruption to swimming lessons and restrictions on accessing pools and waterways. “With large crowds expected at the beach over summer and water play and swimming lessons curbed by 18 months of lockdowns, this week’s
Nippers program was more important than ever,” she said. “It’s disappointing that the final session of our Nipper program was not able to go ahead due to the rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases, however we are so pleased that the majority of the program was able to be completed in these unprecedented times. “We were able to deliver vital surf safety lessons to over 600 Nippers at the start of the program. In addition, the impact the program has had on the mental well-being of all involved has been phenomenal.” The program introduces children aged six to 13 to lifesaving skills through a range of safe and organised water and land activities, teaching them how to be confident, proficient in the surf and build the skills required to become the next generation of volunteer lifesavers.
MORNINGTON Peninsula and bayside businesses are experiencing the fallout from increasing COVID-19 infections, with some having to close at their busiest time of the year due to staff shortages. Hotel Sorrento closed its restaurant and bar on New Year’s Eve “due to health and safety reasons” and will not open until 7 January. The hotel was impacted due to a positive COVID-19 case on Thursday, December 30. Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club has suffered a similar fate, with nine staff testing positive, along with several members. However, instead of closing the club will reduce its restaurant operations and has halted sailing lessons. Most hospitality businesses are experiencing severe staff shortages as a result of people becoming close contacts or being infected but are striving to stay open. They are also facing new density limits announced on Wednesday. New rules mean a limit of one person per two square metres indoors, which could significantly impact the profitability of many venues. Kera Zaltsberg, of Mornington Peninsula Beachside Tourism, said all hospitality businesses would be feeling the pinch of staff shortages as well as cancellations. “Lots of people are cancelling bookings, which impacts businesses,
and then we have staff shortages, just like everyone else in Victoria and New South Wales is experiencing,” she said. Ms Zaltsberg said it was important to remind the community to “be kind” when having to wait for service or products. “Businesses are doing their best in a really difficult situation, so I’d just like to get the message out there for people to be patient and understanding.” Mornington Hotel’s Facebook page has a note to thank and remind patrons that “these are challenging times” where businesses are having to adjust operations at short notice to cope with staff shortages.
COVID contact A MAN who partied in Sorrento on New Year’s Eve and tested positive for COVID-19 two days later has become an unlikely media sensation and prompted a wave of young people to share their COVID status on social media. Twenty-year-old Melbourne media student Izak Volteas has been receiving more attention than he expected since uploading a video of his COVID symptoms and telling the media he wanted to take the shame out of contracting the highly contagious virus. All but one person in the group of 10 he was with on New Year’s Eve also tested positive. Liz Bell
COVID strain on health system Liz Bell liz@mpnews.com.au THE COVID crisis is escalating on the Mornington Peninsula as the population swells over summer and the health system buckles under enormous strain. Staff shortages at Peninsula Health and rising COVID-19 cases in Frankston and on the peninsula threatens to cripple the health system, with health workers struggling to keep up with demand and reports that up to 40 per cent of nurses have resigned. There are reports from staff that ambulances are being forced to divert patients away from Frankston Hospital and some are having to “ramp” for long periods while they wait for confirma-
tion of where patients can be treated. On Sunday (9 January) the number of active case numbers jumped to 2252 on the Mornington Peninsula and 2022 in Frankston, eclipsing last Wednesday’s figures of just 400 cases on the peninsula. A health worker who spoke to The News but did not wish to be named said staff members were overworked and exhausted and leaving the health system in droves. The worker said ambulances were being turned away from Frankston Hospital and patients ferried between services in taxis because ambulances were “ramping” while they waited for hospitals to accept patients. One local nurse who said more resources were needed to attract health
staff, said they worked in “gruelling” conditions and were being “taken for granted and undervalued by the state government”, despite being essential workers. “Everyone may need to be nursed back to health one day, so it’s crazy not to look after nurses,” the nurse said. Health worker unions estimate that 20,000 nurses across the country left the profession last year, with critical shortages being faced by many ICU wards. Worsening the situation, Ambulance Victoria is currently under strain trying to cope with a surge in triple-0 calls from people with COVID symptoms who don’t know where to turn. Across the state, more than one in five calls to triple-0 did not need an emergency
response. While not confirming the number of nursing staff who have left Peninsula Health in the past 12 months, executive director of medical services and clinical governance Associate Professor Shyaman Menon, said health services across the state were facing staffing issues caused by increasing COVID-19 cases. He said Peninsula Health was managing the shortage “by enacting a number of strategies” to maintain a high standard of care for the community. “Our normal ambulance protocols remain in place at Frankston and Rosebud emergency departments and we are supporting our neighbouring hospitals in the south east,” he said. Professor Menon said the demand
for emergency departments had been “stable” and strategies were in place to manage demand. As of Friday (7 January) Peninsula Health had 35 inpatients with COVID-19, and no patients with COVID-19 in ICU. Staff are supporting an additional 1042 people with COVID-19 at home through the community program. Peninsula Health testing clinics are conducting more than 2000 tests a day from sites across the peninsula, and there are reports of long queues and wait times in the afternoons up to several hours. On Wednesday, the state government scrapped the requirement for people who received a positive rapid antigen test to then undergo a PCR test.
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Southern Peninsula News
12 January 2022
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