COVID-19 update 310 | 03/01/2022
Michele Gardner
Metro North Health Incident Controller
Dear Colleagues,
Firstly, I want to wish you all a happy new year! We’re sure to see a big change to our health service as we know it in 2022 as we, along with the rest of the world, take strides towards confidently managing COVID in our community. It will be an exciting year and I’d like to give a big thank you to all our directorates and facility EOCs and a big shoutout to the Metro North EOC for their great work and tireless support in our COVID response across the health service. Thank you also to everyone who worked over this very busy new year period yesterday and today.
Queensland has recorded 2,266 new cases of COVID-19 between 7am and 7pm yesterday. Queensland has only reported on the last 12 hours of data and not 24 hours to be consistent with the reporting of other states and territories. It’s likely we’ll see a considerable jump in the number of cases tomorrow due to this.
We are waiting for updated directions to be issued by the Chief Health Officer in the coming days or so. Details of these directions haven’t been finalised yet but until they are, we will continue to go as we are. Everyone’s doing a fantastic job during these times which Queensland is experiencing for the first time compared to our neighbouring states. I have complete faith in each and every one of you that we will see this period through and continue to do what we always do best, deliver world class care to the north Brisbane community.
Mask mandate expanded
From 1am tomorrow, masks will need to be worn in pubs, indoor stadiums and sports arenas – except while seated. This expanded mandate also covers libraries, hairdressers, nail salons and waiting rooms in medical centres.
Health system update for COVID-19 pandemic response
Queensland Health has today shared a plan of their tiered approach to the management of COVID-19 system planning and service prioritisation across the state. It is recommended that the principles are applied alongside local COVID response plans and disaster management plans. The current recommendations include:
- Transition to statewide case notification and assessment pathways
- Introduction of clinical prioritisation processes to direct patients to the most suitable clinical care environment, noting this may be outside a hospital setting
- Management of acute inpatient admissions across all public health facilities adopting COVID safe hierarchy of infection control measures
- Integrate therapeutic treatment options into case management where applicable
- Maximise the safety of our close contacts through widespread use of rapid antigen testing
- Protect healthcare environments through adhering to recommended infection disease protocols for all staff, patients and visitors. This should include adoptions of rapid antigen testing for routine care admissions or substituting care to virtual options where possible, such as outpatient appointments
Work from home arrangements
A reminder that staff who are able to effectively perform their roles from home are supported to do this please discuss this with your appropriate line manager. We will reassess this next week. Any staff in the workplace must adhere to PPE requirements.
Access to our facilities
Access to vulnerable settings including aged care and hospitals is limited to only those who are fully vaccinated except in end of live, childbirth or emergencies. If you’re unsure if someone should or shouldn’t be entering a facility or visiting patients on your ward, please raise it with your facility EOC.
Kind regards,
Michele Gardner
Metro North Health Incident Controller
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Current Metro North Health tier activated – Tier 3
Helpful links
- Upload evidence of your vaccine
- Qld Health contact tracing list
- Register for your vaccine
- Qld Health general COVID-19 page
- Metro North COVID-19 extranet
- COVID vidcast recordings on QHEPS
Metro North HHS – overview of cases*
| Patients managed by HHS | Fever clinics | ||||||
| Total in-patients | Virtual ward/ HITH/ similar | Total cases including recovered | Deaths** | No. of clinics | Presentations | ||
| Total | ICU patients | Total^ | |||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 46 | 2 | 1 | 182 | 1207 | 4 | 4 | 1559 |
Norfolk Island – overview of cases****
| Patients managed by HHS | Close Contacts in quarantine | ||||||
| Total in-patients | Virtual ward/ HITH/ similar | Total cases including recovered | Deaths | ||||
| Total | ICU patients | ||||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 190 | |
*As at the above date
**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.
**** As part of an Intergovernmental Agreement, from 1 January 2022 Metro North Health is providing a number of health support services to Norfolk Island. This includes advice and support to staff on island in terms of managing COVID patients. The numbers in this section of the table refer to COVID patients who remain on Norfolk Island and are receiving direct care by staff on Norfolk Island.