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Army activated to drive ambulances as Australia marks grim COVID milestone
The city that holds the title of having the longest lockdown in the world is becoming overwhelmed as COVID cases spike
Melbourne along with the state of Victoria has recorded 1,838 new local COVID-19 cases and five further deaths after confirmation that Australian Defence Force personnel will start driving ambulances in the state.
The army has officially been activated as the health care system battles with record admissions.
Today’s number of cases for the past 24 hours is a new daily record for any state or territory in Australia
The spike comes as Ambulance Victoria metro regional director Jerome Peyton told an Australian media outlet that paramedics were experiencing soaring emergency calls driven by the pandemic.
Ticker Health co-host and Medical Doctor, Dr. Kieran Kennedy says the health care network is trying to deal with rising cases everyday while still trying to support regular treatments such as cancer and mental health admissions.
“Logistical nightmare”
Kennedy says it is currently a logistical nightmare to try and seperate services within hospitals, stating it is becoming a challenge to “seperate COVID positive people or close contacts with those that aren’t.”
“It’s obviously people with COVID who need ICU, and need specialist treatment”
Kennedy told Ticker News.
In the past two weeks, Ambulance Victoria had reported four of its five busiest days in history.
Victoria’s Triple Zero call system was also experiencing near record levels of demand.
Major changes to ambulances:
For the first time in Ambulance Victoria’s history, two paramedics will no longer be deployed to each ambulance.
Instead, a paramedic will be joined by a driver from the Australian Defence Force member, St John Ambulance Australia member, State Emergency Service, or a student paramedic.