COVID-19 update 325 | 17/01/2022

Louise O’Riordan Metro North Health Incident Controller

Dear colleagues,

• PPE  
• Working from home 
• Staff Psychology service sessions 
• Hospital entry direction update 
• Vidcast 

Today there are 15,122 reported new cases of COVID-19 in Queensland.

PPE  

The PPE taskforce continues to meet daily to manage our stocks of PPE. While we have plenty of supply, please make sure you are fit tested for at least two masks so you have an alternative if your preferred mask is not available.

Working from home

Where staff can safely and effectively work from home they should be supported to do so. This reduces the number of people on our campuses to help minimise COVID spread. It also helps us preserve PPE. Working from home resources are available through the extranet.

Staff Psychology service sessions 

The Staff Psychology service is conducting weekly sessions in our clinical directorates for the next 6 weeks. These are open door Teams meetings where staff can chat with colleagues and a staff psychologist.

If you’re unable to attend the session or would like to speak to someone privately, you can contact the Staff Psychology service on 3647 9673 or by email at MNStaffPsychology@health.qld.gov.au.

Staff wellbeing resources can also be found on the extranet and on QHEPS.

Hospital entry direction update 

There has been an update to the Hospital Entry Direction (No.8).

Anyone (unless they are a patient) should not enter a hospital if the person:

• is unwell
• has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or asked to quarantine
• is in home quarantine, unless granted an exemption
• has returned from overseas in the last 14 days (excluding safe travel zone countries), unless granted an exemption
• is a close or secondary contact of a person with COVID-19 in the last 14 days, unless their quarantine period has ended
• is unvaccinated and not visiting for a permitted purpose. Permitted purposes include:
  • under 16 years of age; or
  • unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccination because of a medical contraindication and has evidence of a medical contraindication; or
  • is a COVID-19 vaccine trial participant, and receipt of a Therapeutic Goods Administration approved COVID-19 vaccine would impact the validity of the trial. The medical certificate must not have expired.
  • visiting a patient of the hospital for one of the following purposes:
    2. end of life visit; or
    4. to be a support person during childbirth; or
    6. in an emergency.
  • a parent, carer, guardian or other responsible adult who is accompanying a child or minor that is a patient of the hospital; or
  • a carer or support person who provides assistance or other caring responsibilities, including advocacy services, to a patient of the hospital; or
  • is permitted to enter as an unvaccinated worker in healthcare under the Workers in a Healthcare Setting (COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements) Direction.
• has had a COVID-19 PCR test and is waiting to receive the results (except for tests due to surveillance testing obligations)
• has COVID-19 symptoms of fever (37.5 degrees or more), cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of smell or taste, runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting or fatigue.

Each hospital and even wards within hospitals can make decisions around visiting that are in the best interest of the patient. These decisions are based on clinical risk and may change depending on the situation at the time.

Visitors should:

• wash their hands before entering and leaving the hospital
• stay 1.5 metres away from others where possible
• stay in the patient’s room, outside or in a specific area (avoiding communal spaces)
• stay away when unwell
• follow requests from the hospital to help keep staff and patients safe.

People visiting a public hospital to access clinical services in an area where there is sustained COVID-19 transmission may be required by the hospital to undertake a rapid antigen test before they can enter.

Visits which do not adhere to these requirements must have formal approval from the Chief Health Officer via the Metro North Incident Controller (through EOC-MetroNorth@health.qld.gov.au).

Vidcast

Acting Chief Executive Jackie Hanson and I will be holding a COVID vidcast tomorrow at 10am. You can watch live here.

Recordings of vidcasts are usually available on QHEPS within a few hours.

Thank you for your hard work.

Kind regards,

Louise O’Riordan

Metro North Health Incident Controller

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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*

Norfolk Island – overview of cases****

*As at the above date

**Metro North Health has six 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.