9 August 2021
Dear colleagues,
Following the end of lockdown, this morning Metro North moved back to Tier 1 in our COVID response plan. This will be implemented throughout the day.
While the lockdown in the 11 LGAs has lifted, there are still restrictions in place for the next two weeks, including:
- Masks are mandatory except when eating and drinking, or if working alone in an office,
- Gatherings are limited.
We remain on moderate risk PPE, with fever clinic staff and emergency department triage staff wearing P2/N95 masks.
Under Tier 1, we encourage virtual meetings where possible, minimise staff movement across facilities and wards, maintain physical distancing, and ask that staff do not congregate in tea rooms.
Visitors are now allowed at hospitals, aged care and disability accommodation services. Concierge services will continue to ensure all visitors and staff are wearing masks and sign in on arrival.
As we have seen in the past week, fast and effective contact tracing is essential to limit the spread of COVID-19. Staff and visitors must continue to use the QR codes to check in. Please also remember to put on your mask when walking to and from your car.
Staff should continue to check the Queensland Health contact tracing website every day as a precaution.
As many of the families currently in home quarantine will be coming up to their Day 12 testing over the next few days, we anticipate high testing numbers. Additional testing services have been stood up as part of the outbreak management.
Resuming normal activity
Clinical activity will return to as close to business as usual as possible at Caboolture Hospital, Redcliffe Hospital, and STARS. Due to the number of TPCH and RBWH staff in home quarantine, resumption of clinical activity will be reviewed today at these facilities.
The lockdown working from home arrangements will cease today.
Thank you for your work over the past week, especially staff who volunteered for concierge duties across our sites.
Regards,
Louise O’Riordan
Metro North Incident Controller
Metro North HHS – overview of cases*
| HHS | Patients being managed by HHS | FEVER Clinics | ||||||||
| Total In-patients | Virtual Ward / HITH / or similar | Deaths
** |
Total cases managed by HHS (including recovered)
*** |
#
of clinics |
Presentations | |||||
| ICU Pts | ||||||||||
| ICU-NOT Ventilated | ICU-Ventilated | Yesterday | TOTAL^ | |||||||
| MN TOTAL | 80 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 4 | 745 | 3 | 518 | 225,857 | |
*As at 9/08/2021 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.