Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 402 | 04/05/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current situation
- Returning to work as a close contact
- COVID vaccination intervals
Current situation
Metro North remains in Tier 3 of our COVID response plan. We are reviewing
Today we have 490 staff out of the workplace as close contacts or with COVID, and 106 close contacts have been able to return to the workplace.
The COVID staff debrief survey is still open for feedback and local Teams sessions are happening throughout the week.
Returning to work as a close contact
Following the change to the Isolation for Diagnosed Cases of COVID-19 and Management of Close Contacts Direction (No. 7) last week, Metro North employees who are close contacts may return to work under the following conditions:
- They have no symptoms
- They meet the vaccination requirements
- They inform their manager that they are a close contact before returning to the workplace
- They wear a surgical mask or complies with any greater PPE requirements of the vulnerable facility while at work
- They test for COVID-19 at a minimum second daily and only continue to work if they test negative
- They leave work as soon as practicable (after informing their manager) if they become symptomatic.
If you are a close contact, please talk to your line manager who will liaise with your EOC for local requirements.
All staff must also wear PPE as per the risk matrix for your work area. If a close contact develops COVID-19 symptoms you must leave the workplace and isolate at home until symptoms resolve, even if you test negative on a RAT.
COVID vaccination intervals
ATAGI has updated its advice around the primary dose intervals for COVID-19 vaccination and for COVID vaccination after COVID infection.
The recommendation for primary dose intervals has been extended to eight weeks for Pfizer (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax). This is to allow improved immune response and may improve effectiveness. Providers can consider extending Novovax (Nuvaxovid) intervals to eight weeks as well.
This advice does not apply to other vaccines, including influenza, which can be administered as usual.
Regards,
Louise O’Riordan
Metro North Health Incident Controller
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Current Metro North Health tier activated – Tier 3
Helpful links
- Register your positive RAT result
- Upload evidence of your vaccine or booster
- Vaccination locations
- 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 | Deaths** | No. of clinics | Presentations | |||
| Total | ICU patients | Yesterday | |||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 71 | 2 | 0 | 405 | 73 | 3 | 222 | |
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 | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 269 | 0 | 12 | |
*As at the above date
**Metro North Health has recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** 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.