Erskine seniors are "scared out of their wits" after receiving an email confirming a resident of their retirement village had contracted COVID-19.
Residents of the Bridgewater Lifestyle Village were urged in a letter to self-isolate if they had been in contact with the man between March 8-22.
The letter from management on Wednesday said the village and communal areas were immediately closed with no visitors allowed on site as a precaution.
It is the second retirement village in Mandurah with a confirmed case of the virus, after the Mandurah Mail earlier today reported on a Lakelands couple that had fallen ill with the virus. Earlier this week, a Halls Head childcare worker was reported to be in isolation, believed to be the first confirmed case in Mandurah.
'Scared to death'
A woman who contacted the Mandurah Mail said residents of the village were "scared to death."
"My mum lives there and is scared out of her wits too," the woman said. "She hasn't left her house in two weeks."
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The woman slammed people accusing local media of fear mongering, saying the alarm was justified.
"People are not taking this seriously enough and are only worried about spreading fear," the woman said
"They should be fearful and more concerned about stopping the spread of this virus and they should realise that, yes, it is in Mandurah and start to get real."
'Stay inside until further notice'
In the email to Bridgewater residents, the company urged homeowners to contact management only via phone.
"You are also asked to not approach village staff on site," the email from Rob Nichols, who is the chief executive of Serenitas, which heads the National Lifestyle Villages chain that includes the Bridgewater site, stated.
"In line with our Pandemic Management Plan, we immediately contacted the Department of Health and homeowners were alerted by SMS/text and were asked to self-isolate and stay inside until further notice,"
The village management said the man was helping authorities with contact tracing.
'In good spirits'
"He and his wife have self-isolated and we are pleased to advise are in good spirits," the email read.
"We are awaiting specific advice from the Department of Health with regards to self-isolation requirements for close contacts of [the man]...We will advise further information regarding self-isolation dates and duration as soon as we are informed by Department of Health.
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