The incidence of positive bloodstream and urine cultures in five Australian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an unprecedented increase in awareness and focus on infection prevention precautions, including hand-hygiene, cleaning, air quality, ventilation and correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE).1 Recent research has documented that although standard precautions were adopted globally prior to the pandemic, deficits in implementation and compliance persist.2-4 With an increased focus on infection prevention and control practices and processes in healthcare settings as a result of the pandemic, it could be hypothesised that this in turn may have a positive effect on reducing the overall risk of infection transmission in these settings. Conversely, hospitals and healthcare workers have been under enormous strain from COVID-19 and this may result in a reduced focus on preventing infections other than COVID-19.