COVID-19 update 321 | 13/01/2022
Louise O’Riordan Metro North Health Incident Controller
Dear colleagues,
- Leave entitlements
- Staff testing and RATs
- Returning to work as a close contact
- IT for working from home
- Vaccination for children aged 5-11
Today there are 14,914 reported new cases of COVID-19 in Queensland.
Leave entitlements
Please see the leave entitlement flowcharts on the COVID extranet to determine what type of leave you can access if you are out of the workplace as a close contact or if you have COVID-19:
- Employee leave options due to COVID for permanent and fixed-term temporary, full-time and part-time employees (current at 7 January 2022)
- Leave options for employees with COVID-19 infection – employee with positive COVID-19 test or possible COVID-19 infection (current at 7 January 2022)
If you are still unsure about your entitlements or need clinical advice about returning to work after COVID infection or as a close contact, you can call the HR hotline 7 days from 8am-5pm on 07 3646 5500.
Staff testing and RAT kits
Dedicated staff COVID-19 testing centres are available at:
- RBWH Education Centre, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.15pm
- TPCH located in Outpatients B (former Children’s Outpatients Department), Monday to Friday, 7am to 2pm
- Caboolture Hospital staff carpark, Monday to Sunday, 7.30am to 3.30pm (the staff car park is open for all Metro North staff accessing the clinic)
Eligible staff may be able to collect a rapid antigen test from:
- Brighton Health Campus wellness centre, Monday to Friday 9am – 2pm
- Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital outside Pulse Café, Monday to Friday 9am-4.15pm
If you meet the close contact criteria, you will need to show your ID and complete registration. Please remember to be polite to your colleagues working at these collection points.
Report positive RAT results via the Queensland Health RAT portal. You do not need to report your positive RAT if you have had a PCR test as these are already recorded.
Returning to work as a close contact
Just a clarification that any asymptomatic staff member who meets the criteria to return to work as a close contact can do so (48 hours after separation from the household).
This requires a negative RAT two days after separating from the residence. The person is only allowed to attend work and must remain in isolation all other times.
IT for working from home
Digital Metro North is prioritising laptops for staff working in the COVID Virtual Ward.
Staff working from home can access resources and information about remote access via the Working virtually site on the extranet. Requests for IT equipment should go through the usual process via eHealth.
To keep phone lines available, please use Teams to communicate rather than diverting your desk phone where possible.
Vaccination for children aged 5-11
In addition to our Kippa Ring children’s vaccination clinic, we are looking at options to expand COVID vaccination for children aged 5-11.
From Monday we will be staffing a line at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre for children.
We will also be offering vaccinations for ages 5 and up at our pop up First Nations vaccination clinic at Kallangur on Mondays and Thursdays from next week for the remainder of January.
Thank you for your continued commitment to caring for our community.
Kind 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
- 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 | Deaths** | No. of clinics | Presentations | |||
| Total | ICU patients | Total^ | |||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 103 | 2 | 5 | 611 | 5 | 7 | 1713 | |
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 | 49 | 57 | 0 | 24 | |
*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.