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Jan and Rod Hallett are concerned about the impact of coronavirus on older people. (ABC News: Chris Taylor)
Ron and Jan Hallett reckon they've never seen anything quite like it.
"This coronavirus certainly is a concern," Ron, 86, told the ABC.
"If the disease spreads any further, there'd need to be much more care taken for people living in aged care, particularly in nursing homes, for sure."
Ron and Jan live in an independent villa, a couple hundred metres from a HammondCare aged care facility.
Yesterday fears in the aged care sector were heightened when NSW Health confirmed that a 95-year-old woman who died in a Sydney nursing home had tested positive for coronavirus after being in contact with an infected worker.
The ABC toured the HammondCare facility in Sydney, one of thousands of aged care homes across Australia preparing for a potential coronavirus outbreak that could have devastating effects on elderly residents and staff.
Inside the facility, signs advising staff and residents to wash their hands were strategically placed.
Staff have been ensuring "outbreak kits", including supplies of masks, disposable gowns, goggles and gloves, are ready and well-stocked so they can reach them at short notice in case of an outbreak.
The kits also include waste bags, an information handbook and hand disinfectant and other sanitary items.
HammondCare residential aged care general manager Angela Raguz said they were preparing in line with their pandemic plan, which included managing staffing levels and ensuring supplies.
"This goes beyond just your sort of normal infection control practices," she said.
Pictures: Coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak
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China has been battling an outbreak of a new SARS-like coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which originated in Wuhan. The virus has claimed over 1,000 lives in mainland China – far surpassing the death toll during the SARS outbreak in 2003 – and infected over 43,000 people around the world. The Chinese government has allocated $144 million to combat the virus. The country and several of its cities are under a travel lockdown as other nations try to contain the spread of the virus, with major airlines suspending their service from and to the Asian nation. Outside of China, the Philippines reported the first death on Feb. 2, 2020, and Hong Kong on Feb. 4. The other 25 countries and regions infected by the novel coronavirus are Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, U.K., U.S. and Vietnam. On Jan. 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.
(Pictured) A man in protective gear waits to evacuate residents from a public housing building in Hong Kong on Feb. 11.
Members of the media stand near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 11.
People wear masks as a precautionary measure at the Seoul railway station in South Korea on Feb. 10.
A resident wearing a protective face mask looks on at Patan Durbar Square in Patan, Nepal, on Feb. 10.
A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask as he stands guard outside National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 10.
A woman walks past a sand sculpture depicting people wearing protective masks with a message reading 'Fight against coronavirus, we stand with China' made by Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik at Puri beach in Odisha, India, on Feb. 10.
Tourists wearing face masks visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 10.
People wear protective masks as they wait to cross the street in Hong Kong on Feb. 10.
A worker wearing a protective suit carries a fogging machine as others prepare to disinfect a business establishment in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 9.
A passenger wearing a mask walks outside the Shanghai railway station in China on Feb. 8.
Workers produce protective clothing at a factory in Wuxi, China, on Feb. 8. The factory, which previously produced suits and sportswear, switched to production of protective clothing as demand increased due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Family members of passengers from the cruise ship World Dream docked at Kai Tak cruise terminal, wave on shore in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. The cruise ship with approximately 1,800 passengers remained quarantined in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on Feb. 8. Several passengers from mainland China on a previous World Dream cruise were found to have the new coronavirus on returning home.
A Hindu devotee wears a mask as she carries a milk pot on her head at a shrine in Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 8.
French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnès Buzyn leaves after attending a meeting about the situation of the n-CoV 2019 coronavirus, in Paris, France, on Feb. 8. The minister said that five British nationals including a child have tested positive for the new coronavirus in France.
Tourists wearing face masks line up near a departure gate at the airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Feb. 8. Thousands of Chinese tourists are reportedly stranded in Bali following suspension of all flights to and from China.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the media during a press conference on the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. Lam said that the government has bought 48 million masks and received 17 million more from China to counter the shortage of masks in Hong Kong.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has his temperature checked during a visit to a clinic in Gyeonggi, South Korea, on Feb. 8.
People wearing masks walk in a subway station in Hong Kong on Feb. 7.
People look on from the quarantined cruise liner Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 7. About 64 passengers from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Another ship, the World Dream, has been docked and quarantined at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. It has 3,600 passengers and crew on board.
Flight attendants wearing protective clothing and masks serve snacks to Canadians, who had been evacuated from China due to the outbreak of novel Coronavirus on an American charter plane, on another aircraft taking them to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton from the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Feb. 7.
Nurses check the temperature of visitors at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 5.
Joe Parisi, Dane County executive, discusses the first confirmed case of coronavirus in a Wisconsin resident as Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway looks on during a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin, on Feb. 5.
Workers in protective gear are seen on Japan Coast Guard boats in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 5, bringing patients from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Workers wearing protective gears spray disinfectant on a street at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 5.
A public health ministry nurse measures the temperature of a passenger arriving from France, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Feb. 4.
Employees wearing face masks are seen at a hotel near Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 4, where people who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, are quarantined as a preventive measure.
Sylvie Briand, director of infectious hazard management department at the World Health Organization (WHO), attends a press conference on the coronavirus in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 4.
Beds are set up at an exhibition center, which was converted into a hospital, in Wuhan on Feb. 4.
This handout photo released by Malaysia's Ministry of Health shows citizens being directed onto a bus by health officials as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in Feb. 4.
People wear face masks as they go about their daily lives in Singapore on Feb. 4.
Medical workers hold a strike outside the office of Hospital Authority in Hong Kong, as they demand the closure of borders with China, on Feb. 4.
A nurse checks the temperature of a visitor as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 3.
Police walk past signage before the arrival of Myanmar students, who were evacuated on a chartered flight from Wuhan, at the international airport in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Feb. 2.
Members of the Association for Sri Lanka and China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC) hold candles during a vigil to pray for people who are suffering from coronavirus across the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 1.
German Minister for Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (R) and German Minister for Health Jens Spahn give a joint statement in Bonn, Germany, on Feb. 1, on the evacuation of more than 100 German citizens from Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak.
Arnaud Fontanet, director of global health department at Institut Pasteur, speaks during a news conference over the latest findings on coronavirus in Paris, France, on Jan. 31.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, and Didier Houssin, chair of the emergency committee, at the opening of the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee for Pneumonia due to the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV in Geneva on Jan. 30.
Medical staff with protective clothing are seen inside a ward specialized in treating people who may have been infected with the virus, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital in Chennai, India, on Jan. 29.
Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference at the United Nations, in Geneva, on Jan. 29.
Passengers arriving on flights wear protective masks at the international airport in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 29.
Students disinfect their hands before entering class at a school in Phnom Penh, on Jan. 28. Cambodia's health ministry reported the country's first case of coronavirus on Jan. 27.
A woman wearing a protective mask prays at the Lungshan Temple on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 28.
Paramilitary officers wearing face masks stand guard at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, on Jan. 27.
Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer of Ontario (C), speaks as Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the city of Toronto (L) and Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, during a press briefing on coronavirus at Queens Park in Toronto, Canada, on Jan. 27. The Ontario health officials announced the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in Toronto, along with a presumptive second case of the virus in the city.
Images captured by a thermographic imaging device to check the temperatures of arriving passengers at a quarantine station are seen on a monitor at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on Jan. 26.
A security force member stands in front of the pandemic center where a suspected case of coronavirus is under observation at Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Jan. 26.
A banner placed by Indian health workers is seen during a coronavirus information camp for travelers at an India-Nepal border crossing, near Siliguri, India, on Jan. 26.
(L-R) Sabine Hagenauer of the infection department at the 4th medical department of Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, Michael Binder, medical director of the Vienna Hospital Association, and Judith Aberle of the department of virology, Medical University Vienna, address a press conference at Kaiser-Franz-Josef hospital in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 26. A Chinese flight attendant was quarantined in the hospital with symptoms of flu, in what authorities suspected as the first coronavirus case in the country.
A health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station in Beijing, on Jan. 25.
Dozens of diggers work to build a new hospital in Wuhan, on Jan. 25. Due to the large number of infected people, the government decided to establish a temporary 1,000-bed hospital.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a press conference in Hong Kong on Jan. 25. Announcing a citywide virus emergency, Lam ordered the cancellation of all official trips to mainland China and school shutdown till Feb. 17.
Security personnel wearing hazardous material suits measure body temperatures of passenger at the entrance of a subway station in Beijing on Jan. 25.
A disinfection worker wearing protective gear sprays anti-septic solution in a train at SRT train station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.
Sanitation workers spray a disinfectant at Suseo Station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.
A passenger holds up an Australian Government document pertaining to the coronavirus as passengers arrive at Sydney International Airport in Australia on Jan. 23.
Locals wear face masks while browsing in a store ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, on Jan. 23, 2020. A day earlier, Taiwan stopped sending tour groups to, or receiving tour groups from Wuhan, China, due to concerns over the cornonavirus outbreak.
Passengers arriving from China are screened at Kolkata International Airport, India, on Jan. 22, 2020. Screening centers have been set up in the Indian cities of Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin apart from three airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to screen for the coronavirus.
People walk next to signage detailing hygienic practices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at the Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 21.
"We can't guarantee that we're not going to have an outbreak.
"We're making sure we've got enough [of the simple things] like hand sanitiser, enough handwashing liquid, making sure we've got enough paper towels."
The elderly have been identified by experts as the age group most at risk from coronavirus.
Of the more than 1,000 people who have died from the disease in China, the majority were more than 60 years old and had pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
According to health experts, the over-80 age group had the highest fatality rate of all age groups, at 14.8 per cent.
Federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck told the ABC all the evidence suggested older Australians were more susceptible to the virus.
He said every aged care facility was required to have its own influenza outbreak management plans, with the COVID-19 threat now an "upgrade" on that process.
"We're expecting that aged care facilities are prepared," he said.
"They need to have all the tools, the things in place including personal protective equipment."
He said he had been told of "some issues" around broader supply to some facilities for equipment such as masks, and the Federal Government was "taking action".
Mr Colbeck said he was meeting aged care leaders in Canberra on Friday to discuss preparation.
Speaking on the ABC's 7.30 program on Wednesday night, chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said aged care facilities needed to consider quarantines, stopping visits and "surge workforce" staffing.
"If there were an outbreak in a particular community, and there wasn't [protective equipment] you might want to protect the facility by stopping people coming in," he said.
"But if you have got, for example, 11 people in the facility like you do in NSW being quarantined, we would require their relatives to wear protective equipment when they come in."
The Baptist Care facility in NSW where the elderly woman died has not been put in full lock-down. But NSW chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant said the centre had already taken a "lot of steps" to raise infection control.
Western Australia-based Aegis Aged Care Group runs about 25 facilities across the state.
Its clinical and infection control consultant Luci Rodda said if more coronavirus cases were recorded, they would be forced to look at restricting visits.
"That's how the virus comes in facilities, people are bringing it in," she said.
"Whether that means we restrict access … that advice will come from the health department.
"Obviously, we don't want to restrict visitation for our residents, that can have a big impact on them."
Back in Sydney, Rod and Jan said they were alert but not alarmed.
"It's something that seems to have really frightened a lot of people," Jan said.
"It hasn't frightened us yet because we always wash our hands very well and I guess we can also feel a little bit protected because we're here and we're not going out into society in general like everyone that works has to do to earn a living."
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