Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 407 | 16/05/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current situation
- Direction updates
Current situation
Metro North remains in Tier 3 of our COVID response plan. Today we have 405 staff out of the workplace as close contacts or with COVID.
Metro North is still in the high risk PPE category. We will review our tier and PPE status on Wednesday.
Tomorrow I will hold a vidcast with Dr Andrew Redmond to share Metro North’s acute respiratory plan which includes COVID and influenza response and other respiratory diseases. The draft plan is currently out for consultation with our infectious diseases and critical care
The COVID staff debrief survey has now closed. Thank you everyone who provided your feedback. We received a significant amount of feedback which we’re currently collating to identify the key themes and learnings.
Direction updates
From 5pm on Friday 13 May 2022 four public health directions were updated to reflect recent changes to quarantine requirements for close contacts and international arrivals into Queensland under the Isolation for Diagnosed Cases of COVID-19 and Management of Close Contacts Direction and the Requirements for International Arrivals Direction.
These changes were also reflected in updates to the following directions:
- Disability Accommodation Services Visitor Direction (No. 2)
- Hospital Visitor Entry Direction (No. 2)
- Residential Aged Care Facility Visitor Entry Direction (No. 2)
- Requirements for Workers at Government Nominated Accommodation Direction (No.2).
The changes:
- align the visitor entry restrictions for international arrivals and close contacts in the vulnerable facilities directions with those in the Isolation for Diagnosed Cases of COVID-19 and Management of Close Contacts Direction and the Requirements for International Arrivals Direction
- reduce the period a fully vaccinated international arrival is excluded from visiting a vulnerable or high risk setting from 14 to seven days after arriving in Queensland, and recognise that an international arrival may be permitted to visit earlier in exceptional circumstances where conditions are met
- remove references to quarantine for close contacts and post-quarantine requirements
- clarify that volunteers and students working at vulnerable or high risk settings, whether paid or unpaid, are treated as workers rather than visitors and are subject to the requirements of the Workers in a healthcare setting (COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements) Direction
- clarify that a hospital operator can permit visitors to a COVID designated area for exceptional reasons (as determined by the operator) or an end of life visit in accordance with local protocols, and regardless of vaccination status of the visitor.
The changes to the Requirements for Workers at Government Nominated Accommodation Direction reflect that quarantine is no longer mandated under the public health directions.
More information about Queensland’s Public Health Directions, including questions and answers can be found on the Queensland Health website.
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 | ||||||
| 88 | 1 | 2 | 402 | 82 | 3 | 93 | |
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 | ||||||
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 515 | 0 | 21 | |
*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.