Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 381 | 31/03/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current Tier 3 situation
- Residential aged care worker vaccination
Today we have 1072 staff away from Metro North, either with COVID-19 or as close contacts. There are 7289 new COVID cases reported in Queensland.
We remain on Tier 3 of our COVID-19 response plan.
Current Tier 3 situation
With so many staff not in the workplace due to COVID, we need to manage our staffing to ensure continued service delivery.
Under Tier 3, we need to postpone non-urgent planned care including elective surgery and outpatient appointments. This is critical to release capacity for other clinical services.
Non-essential meetings should be cancelled or postponed and other meetings should be virtual. Training and education that is not mandated should also be postponed.
You can do your bit by remaining cognisant of the pandemic and the precautions in place, ensuring you:
- Practice hand hygiene and mask-wearing, ensuring you check your mask fit before each shift.
- Remain socially distant where possible.
- Stay home if you are unwell and get tested if you have any COVID-19 symptoms.
- Ensure you have been fit tested if you are in a patient-facing role. You can find out more on the COVID extranet fit testing page.
The Critically Essential Worker requirements are still in effect for close contacts. There is a process that needs to be followed to return to work under this arrangement, so speak to your line manager in the first instance.
Residential aged care worker vaccination
Changes to the Workers in a healthcare setting (COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements) Direction (No. 4) come into effect today which mandates a booster vaccination.
All workers in residential aged care facilities, including students, volunteers and contractors, must be up to date with COVID-19 vaccination. This means your initial two doses plus a booster.
This includes any other staff who need to go into our residential aged care facilities as well.
Evidence of your booster must be uploaded to the Queensland Health COVID-19 Vaccination Hub. This is quick and easy:
- Download your COVID digital certificate from your myGov account or contact the
- Go to the COVID-19 Vaccination Hub
- Choose the +Booster Vaccination option
- Add your booster details
- Upload or drag and drop your certificate
- Save
Kind 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 | ||||||
| 71 | 4 | 0 | 676 | 55 | 3 | 326 | |
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 | 19 | 147 | 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.