COVID-19 update 361 | 22/02/2022
- Queensland restrictions
- Recovery planning
- Wellbeing resources
- Returning to work after international travel
Today there were 5583 reported new COVID cases in Queensland.
Metro North remains on Tier 3 of our COVID response plan and the high risk category of the PPE matrix. We review our response tier weekly in line with the current level of COVID activity.
Queensland restrictions
The Premier has announced today that at 6pm on Friday 4 March some COVID restrictions will lift.
Masks will no longer be mandatory in most places, such as cafes and shops, but will still be required in hospitals and aged care facilities, public transport and airports. Density limits will also be lifted for venues.
While these restrictions are easing, we are still seeing a significant number of people in our community testing positive for COVID every day, so please keep up your hand hygiene, stay home if you’re unwell, and wear a mask in public places if you prefer.
Most importantly, if you haven’t had your COVID booster yet, please take this step to protect yourself and your family.
Recovery planning
For the past few weeks we have been planning for our pandemic recovery phase.
This includes what we will do with our fever clinics and testing sites, how we will manage COVID patients going forward, our vaccination services, and a review of our COVID response over the past two years.
There will also be a debriefing process on what worked well, what do we need to keep, and what we don’t want to keep.
I’ll keep you updated on the recovery planning over the next few weeks.
Wellbeing resources
In today’s vidcast our Chief Allied Health Practitioner Mark Butterworth mentioned some wellbeing resources available to staff. You can find resources on the extranet and QHEPS including information about the peer responder and RUOK programs, training, and how to access the staff psychology service.
There are also open door sessions with the staff psychologists across facilities that you can join for a supportive chat.
| Session | Date/Times | Teams Link |
| STARS | Monday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| CABOOLTURE | Monday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| REDCLIFFE | Tuesday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| COH | Thursday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| TPCH | Thursday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| PUBLIC HEALTH | Friday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| METRO NORTH | Friday 2:30 – 3:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
| RBWH | Thursday 12:30 – 1:15pm | Click here to join the meeting |
The Culture and Wellbeing team also have some upcoming Maintaining Morale sessions:
| Expressing gratitude | Monday 28th Feb
10:00 – 10:20am |
Click here to join the meeting |
| Positivity and Joy | Monday 7th March
10:00 – 10:20am |
Click here to join the meeting |
Returning to work after international travel
Under Hospital Entry Direction (No.11) people returning from overseas cannot enter a hospital or healthcare facility in the first 14 days unless they have an exemption. This includes healthcare staff.
To apply for an exemption, please follow these steps:
- Submit your exemption request via the Queensland Government exemptions
- Choose the ‘General exemption from a health direction’ option (do not choose ‘specialist/essential worker’)
- Email the details of your request and your application reference number (RITM) to your directorate EOC, including your proposed return to work date. This will be provided to Metro North EOC.
- Metro North EOC will liaise with Health Directions and communicate the application outcome as soon as it is known.
Information about fit testing and staff testing locations is available on the COVID extranet. The locations of vaccination clinics and pop up sites is available online.
Kind regards,
Mark Butterworth
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 | Yesterday | |||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 53 | 6 | 3 | 287 | 38 | 4 | 282 | |
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 | 7 | 107 | 0 | 1 | |
*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.