The Victorian Government is committed to protecting our healthcare workers and keeping them safe.
This information and data on this page are specific to healthcare workers. You can find other data at Victorian coronavirus (COVID-19) data.
For the purposes of this data, a healthcare worker is someone who works in a clinical setting and delivers patient care across Victoria.
The data on this page, including the weekly summary, is updated weekly. This page was last updated on 29 September 2020 and reports on cases notified to the department up to and including 23 September 2020. ‘Cases in the last week’ refers to cases notified to the department between 17 September and 23 September.
Hospitals, GP clinics and other healthcare services remain open, safe and ready for Victorians to visit. People who need routine or emergency medical care or support are advised not to delay their visit.
Weekly Summary
- The number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in healthcare workers has decreased relative to the previous week. This reflects the downward trend of transmission in the broader Victorian population.
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Of the total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in healthcare workers (3519), 72.52% of cases were acquired in a healthcare setting, and 14.52% were not acquired in a healthcare setting. 12.95% of cases are either still under investigation or the source of infection is unable to be determined.
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Of the healthcare workers who acquired COVID-19 in a healthcare setting, 1273 (49.88%) were aged care or disability workers, 1022 (40.04%) were nurses or midwives, 118 (4.62%) were medical practitioners and 87 (3.40%) were other healthcare workers.
Data
This is a report of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in the Victorian healthcare worker population.
The report is updated weekly and is based on the most accurate data available to the Department of Health and Human Services at the time of publication.
Latest Victorian healthcare worker numbers
Updated:
88
Active healthcare
worker cases
2552
Healthcare worker cases
acquired in the workplace
3519
Total healthcare worker
cases
107
Furloughed hospital
staff
38
Healthcare worker cases
in the last week
3429
Recovered healthcare
workers
Note
The number of recovered cases plus the number of active cases is not equal to the total cases. This is because total cases also includes cases that are deceased or lost to follow up (i.e. not able to be contacted and hence status unknown).
The figure for heathcare workers furloughed is current at 25 September 2020.
Healthcare worker cases over time
Source of infections in healthcare workers over time
Healthcare worker cases by occupation
| Occupation | Last week | Change from previous week | Total cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Aged care or disability worker | 24 | -2 | 1593 |
| Allied health | 1 | 1 | 142 |
| Dental professional | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Medical imaging professional | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Medical practitioner | 1 | 1 | 205 |
| Midwife | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Nurse | 11 | -10 | 1321 |
| Other healthcare worker | 0 | -1 | 77 |
| Paramedics and patient transport officers | 1 | 1 | 42 |
| Pharmacist | 0 | -1 | 69 |
| Total Cases | 38 | -11 | 3519 |
Notes regarding occupations:
‘Other healthcare worker’ includes undisclosed or healthcare occupations pending classification. ‘Aged care or disability workers’ include workers in clinical roles who are not doctors/nurses/allied health, e.g. personal care assistants and disability support officers.
Healthcare worker cases by healthcare setting/workplace
| Healthcare setting | Total Cases | Active Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Aged Care | 1714 (48.7%) | 62 (70.5%) |
| Hospital | 1073 (30.5%) | 16 (18.2%) |
| Other Setting | 732 (20.8%) | 10 (11.4%) |
| Total | 3519 (100%) | 88 (100%) |
Note
Some cases have worked in more than one healthcare setting. If they have been linked to an outbreak in an aged care setting they will be included in that category and no other categories. If they work in a hospital or are linked to a hospital-based outbreak, they will be included in that category UNLESS they are also linked to an aged care outbreak
Acquisition of COVID-19 in healthcare settings
| Occupation |
Healthcare acquired |
Not healthcare acquired | Unable to be determined | Under Investigation | Total Cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aged care or disability worker | 1273 | 174 | 133 | 13 | 1593 |
| Allied health | 52 | 52 | 38 | 0 | 142 |
| Medical practitioner | 118 | 42 | 44 | 1 | 205 |
| Nurses and midwives | 1022 | 155 | 159 | 4 | 1340 |
| Other healthcare worker | 87 | 88 | 59 | 5 | 239 |
| Total Cases | 2552 | 511 | 433 | 23 | 3519 |
Note
Acquisition in a healthcare setting means that the healthcare worker contracted COVID-19 in the healthcare setting where they work.
Breakdown of healthcare acquired COVID-19 cases – by setting
| Occupation | Aged Care | Hospital | Other Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged care or disability worker | 1139 | 37 | 97 |
| Allied health | 25 | 21 | 6 |
| Medical practitioner | 4 | 102 | 12 |
| Nurses and midwives | 417 | 557 | 48 |
| Other healthcare worker | 18 | 34 | 35 |
| Total Cases | 1603 | 751 | 198 |
Note
Some cases have worked in more than one healthcare setting. If they have been linked to an outbreak in an aged care setting they will be included in that category and no other categories. If they work in a hospital or are linked to a hospital-based outbreak, they will be included in that category UNLESS they are also linked to an aged care outbreak.
Information about the data
- For the purposes of this report, a healthcare worker is someone who works in health and aged care settings providing direct care to patients. This includes registered health practitioners, other health practitioners, diagnostic and ancillary staff. Support staff in these settings (such as those in administration or cleaning) are not considered healthcare workers for the purposes of this report. Other health practitioners include those working in dentistry, paramedics, pharmacy, medical imaging, etc.
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A healthcare worker case is a person who works as a healthcare worker and has a positive laboratory test for coronavirus (COVID-19), regardless of whether they contracted the infection at work or elsewhere.
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An active case is someone who has tested positive and is currently in isolation, being treated in hospital, or still being investigated.
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Healthcare worker total cases is the number of all confirmed cases in the healthcare worker population (regardless of how the case was acquired).
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Recovered cases are calculated by taking the total number of cases and subtracting active cases, lives lost and cases where the individual could not be contacted.
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‘Acquired in the workplace’ or ‘in a healthcare setting’ means it is most likely that the healthcare worker contracted their infection in the workplace, and it is highly unlikely to have been community acquired based on recorded information
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Furloughed hospital staff. This figure relates to public and private hospital healthcare worker staff furloughed due to either COVID infection or being a close contact of a confirmed case. The data is based on regular sector huddles where hospital healthcare worker furloughing numbers are reported from nine major metropolitan hospitals and six regional hospitals and seven private providers.
Interpreting data
Data presented in this report is updated weekly. It may change as more information becomes available. Cases are included in this report based on the date on which the positive lab result was first received by the department.
Daily case numbers may decrease as duplicate entries are removed from the data set. These entries may occur when an individual is tested multiple times, or their results are reported by multiple health professionals or laboratories.
You should not use the information within this report to determine whether or how to access healthcare services. If you require routine or emergency medical care and support, GP clinics, hospitals and other healthcare services remain open, safe and ready for you to visit.
Source of data
The Department of Health and Human Services sources this data through case interviews, contact tracing and management of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2009, the department is authorised by law to collect information from doctors and laboratories about diagnoses of certain health-related conditions in Victoria. The law exists to monitor and control the occurrence of infectious diseases and other medical conditions and helps to prevent further illness. The aim is to protect the health and safety of the community.
On 29 January 2020, the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 were amended to add Novel Coronavirus 2019 to the list of notifiable conditions in Schedule 3 and 5 requiring medical practitioners and pathology services to notify the department of confirmed cases as soon as possible.
Related information
The department established the Healthcare Worker Infection Prevention and Wellbeing Taskforce on 10 August 2020. For more information, visit Healthcare Worker Infection Prevention and Wellbeing Taskforce.