10 August 2021

Dear colleagues,

Today Queensland has recorded three new cases of COVID-19 in home quarantine, all linked to the Indooroopilly cluster.

While this is good news, the Premier is urging Queenslander’s not to travel into NSW or even the QLD-NSW border zone after a COVID-19 positive man visited Byron Bay, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina.

Yesterday these four Local Government Areas (LGAs), which are within the QLD-NSW border zone, were put in a seven-day lockdown. Although the man didn’t enter Queensland, we are still concerned about the situation in NSW and cases creeping up to the border.

Please note that anyone who lives in Queensland but had visited these four locked down LGAs since 31 July must comply with the lockdown direction. 

If you missed it yesterday, Metro North moved back to Tier 1 in our COVID response plan. We remain on moderate risk PPE, with fever clinic staff and emergency department triage staff wearing P2/N95 masks.

Only fully vaccinated students (two doses) can return for clinical placements.

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.

Please continue to check the Queensland Health contact tracing website every day as a precaution.

Thank you for your work over the past week and it’s lovely to see everyone back on-site as work from home arrangements lifted.

Regards,

Louise O’Riordan 
Metro North Incident Controller

Metro North HHS – overview of cases*

*As at 10/08/2021 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.