Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 408 | 17/05/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current situation
- Visitors
Current situation
Metro North remains in Tier 3 of our COVID response plan. Today we have 410 staff out of the workplace as close contacts or with COVID.
Metro North is still in the high risk PPE category.
The number of confirmed influenza cases in Metro North catchment have increased and we are seeing inpatients as well. Dr Andrew Redmond and I held a vidcast today to talk about Metro North’s acute respiratory plan, which includes COVID, influenza and other respiratory diseases. Thank you for everyone who tuned in and asked questions.
If you haven’t had your flu vaccine yet this year, now is the time!
Visitors
There’s been some confusion about the rules for visitors.
Patients in the emergency department are allowed one support person. In most other areas two visitors (or more if approved by the hospital ED) are allowed.
Visitors are an important part of the patient experience while in hospital and provide support and comfort. As an organisation, our position is to be compassionate and flexible as much as possible to allow visitors.
Unvaccinated visitor exemptions can be done through your local EOC.
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 | 2 | 2 | 399 | 82 | 3 | 162 | |
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 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 521 | 0 | 14 | |
*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.