At least 50 Queensland aged care residents with COVID-19 have died during the Omicron wave, including seven in one Brisbane nursing home alone, new data shows.
The latest weekly federal Health Department report into COVID-19 in aged care showed seven residents of Forest Lake Lodge, in Brisbane's outer south-west, had died with the virus.
There were among at least 130 cases linked to the nursing home, including 77 residents and 53 staff.
They represents more than 5 per cent of the total number of people who have died in Queensland during the pandemic, which stands at 129. All but seven of them during the Omicron wave.
Another four residents of Esida, an aged care facility at Mount Gravatt East in Brisbane's south, have also died with COVID-19. They are among at least 70 COVID-19 cases linked to the nursing home, including 45 residents and 25 staff.
The ABC understands one active case remains at Esida, which has been in lockdown since New Year's Eve — more than three weeks.
Lockdown 'until further notice'
Forest Lake Lodge CEO Lenora Steele would not comment when approached by the ABC, but in a COVID-19 update posted on the aged care facility's website last week, she said the nursing home would be in lockdown "until further notice".
Ms Steele said COVID-19 infection-control measures were being deployed to "slow the tide".
"We can no longer eliminate the virus from our communities," she wrote.
"I do believe that everyone will eventually acquire the COVID virus.
"Please rest assured that all my staff are double vaccinated, and many have received their booster.
"We are working together as a community to manage this outbreak.
"If your loved one is diagnosed as positive for COVID, we will call you to discuss their management moving forward.
"Our aim is to continue to care for and support all of our Forest Lake Lodge community to the best of our ability.
"Keep safe and calm: we are all experiencing this challenge together."
The federal government report provides a national snapshot of COVID-19 virus cases in aged care facilities as at 5pm on January 20.
It lists active outbreaks in 212 Queensland nursing homes, representing more than 40 per cent of the state's residential aged care facilities. That is up from 133 the week before.
Aged and Community Services Australia CEO Paul Sadler said while NSW appeared to have hit the peak of its Omicron wave, that was not the case in Queensland, particularly in the state's regional areas.
"We are anticipating that there'll continue to be some significant impact on some aged care homes for at least the next few weeks," Mr Sadler said.
The federal government is yet to finish its rollout of COVID-19 booster vaccines to aged care facilities across the nation.
"We'll probably be well over 90 per cent complete by Monday, but I don't think it'll be 100 per cent complete," Mr Sadler said.
"It's really important to complete the booster program as quickly as we possibly can.
"From Aged and Community Services Australia's point of view … any missed nursing home puts those residents at risk."
Mr Sadler said many aged care staff were working double shifts to plug gaps in rosters affected by the Omicron wave.
"We have called on the federal government to put in place a pandemic payment for staff," he said.
"We need as a society to recognise the important work that aged care staff do and to value that appropriately, given that they're right on the front line of dealing with this.
"There's an underlying need to improve the wages of aged care workers in the longer term, too."
