COVID-19 update 327 | 19/01/2022
Louise O’Riordan Metro North Health Incident Controller
Dear colleagues,
- International border opening
- COVID positive and close contact staff
- Vaccination boosters
- Upcoming vidcasts
Today there are 19,932 reported new cases of COVID-19 in Queensland.
International border opening
The Premier has announced changes to international arrivals which will take effect from 1am Saturday 22 January.
Fully vaccinated international arrivals will need to quarantine at home or in other accommodation and take a COVID test within the first 24 hours. If they test negative, they can leave quarantine.
Unvaccinated travellers will still be required to complete two weeks of quarantine.
COVID positive and close contact staff
We have updated the extranet with clear information for staff who are COVID positive or who are a close contact:
This includes information about the process for returning to work as a close contact, what happens if additional household members test positive, and how to access testing.
The Brighton Health Campus RAT collection service will continue until the end of next week (but will be closed 26 January for public holiday). RATs can also be collected from the RBWH education centre.
Vaccination boosters
Evidence supports the benefits of a third dose of COVID vaccine. If your second dose was 4 or more months ago, please visit any of our Metro North vaccination clinics (or your local clinic) for your booster.
Family and household members can come with you for a vaccination via the staff queue.
Vaccinations for children are available at Kippa Ring seven days a week, at Caboolture Square on Tuesdays and Sundays, and Mondays and Thursdays at our pop up First Nations clinic at Kallangur. Clinic hours and locations are on the Queensland Health vaccination locations page.
Upcoming vidcasts
We are planning to hold vidcasts twice a week while we’re in Tier 4. The next few scheduled vidcasts are:
- Thursday 20/01, 12-1pm – Acting Chief Operating Officer Dr David Rosengren and Acting ED HR Peter Patmore, COVID update
- Tuesday 25/01, 12-1pm – Acting Chief Executive Jackie Hanson and Incident Controller Louise O’Riordan, COVID update
- Thursday 27/01, 10-11am – ED Allied Health Mark Butterworth and staff psychologist Drew Craker, Wellbeing during COVID
The link will be sent prior to each vidcast.
Staff Psychology open sessions
The Staff Psychology service is running virtual open door sessions for the next 6 weeks across clinical directorates. Details are available on the staff wellbeing extranet.
For the Staff Psychology hotline, please call 3647 9673 or email MNStaffPsychology@health.qld.gov.au.
Thank you for your hard work. It is much appreciated.
Louise O’Riordan
Metro North Health Incident Controller
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Current Metro North Health tier activated – Tier 4
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 | ||||||
| 155 | 6 | 7 | 935 | 7 | 7 | 1715 | |
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 | 18 | 70 | 0 | 19 | |
*As at the above date
**Metro North Health has seven 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.