2 August 2021

Dear colleagues,

This morning the Deputy Premier and Chief Health Officer announced that the current hard lockdown will be extended until 4pm Sunday 8 August.

Staff working from home or can’t attend work

Where possible, staff who are not in clinical or clinical support roles who can conduct their work from home safely and effectively will be supported to do so. However, all staff should make themselves available if needed for reassignment to an area in need of support, such as concierge. All work from home requests must be approved by your Executive Director.

The cluster related to Indooroopilly State High School continues to grow, and there are now thousands of people in quarantine and isolation. This includes a significant number of Metro North staff. If you are rostered for clinical duties but affected by the current quarantine or isolation requirements, please communicate with your line manager immediately so rosters can be adjusted.

Non clinical shifts

For the period of the Brisbane lockdown, until 4pm Sunday 8 August, and whilst we have significant numbers of furloughed staff, Senior Medical Officers are to divert from rostered clinical support time to essential clinical services. All diversion activities should be determined by the Clinical Director with the key priority to ensure continuity of operational service, and in particular urgent care through this time of COVID-19 response.

Non urgent activity

Due to the number of staff affected, non urgent outpatient appointments and elective surgeries and procedures are being postponed in HHSs across the 11 restricted local government areas. This is in place until 4pm Monday 9 August at this stage. Where possible, appointments should be transferred to virtual, including rural and remote outreach services.

Safe return to work for staff affected by current cluster

The requirements for staff with children attending the schools associated with the current cluster have been updated.  Only critical essential workers can return to work under these conditions.

Your Clinical Director will determine who is considered critical essential staff, depending on availability of other staff.

All staff should check the Queensland Health contact tracing website every day for updated exposure sites. If you have any symptoms at all, no matter how mild, please get tested and stay home. It is more important than ever to keep up our physical distancing, hand washing or sanitising, check in using the QR codes as you move around your facility, and use PPE appropriate to your situation.

If you have not yet had your first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, please register to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Metro North remains at Tier 1 of our COVID response plan and moderate risk PPE with the addition of fever clinic staff and emergency department triage staff wearing N95 masks.

Thank you to everyone who worked over the weekend and to all staff who have volunteered to assist with concierge and fever clinics.

Regards,

Louise O’Riordan 
Metro North Incident Controller

Metro North HHS – overview of cases*

*As at 2/08/2021 at 1000

**Metro North Health has four recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)   

*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North Health.