The Ministry of Health has released its Action Plan to address the recommendations made in the Independent Review of COVID-19 Clusters in Aged Residential Care (ARC) Facilities Report.
From the New Zealand and international experience, we know that the consequences can be deadly if COVID-19 gains a foothold in aged residential care facilities - 16 of New Zealand's 22 COVID-related deaths have occurred in these settings.
In April Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield commissioned an independent review into New Zealand’s ARC facilities to understand what was going well and what could be improved.
The review, which was published in June 2020, included a number of recommendations to further strengthen New Zealand’s response to