Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 383 | 4/04/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current Tier 3 situation
- Influenza vaccination
- Close contacts
- Record your booster
There are 7707 new COVID cases reported in Queensland.
Current Tier 3 situation
Metro North has 901 staff currently out of the workplace due to COVID.
We are seeing an increase in people with COVID in our care, with 79 current inpatients including 6 in ICU. Our Virtual Ward is caring for the majority of people in our care.
Metro North remains on Tier 3 of our COVID-19 response plan. This means a significant reduction in planned care and the suspension of face to face meetings. Please review the Tier 3 plan for more details.
Current modelling predicts we will continue to see a slow increase in COVID positive cases over the next 2-3 weeks, with ongoing demand and staffing pressures.
Influenza vaccination
The Metro North annual influenza vaccination campaign is due to start on Tuesday 26 April. There will be information coming about how and where you can get your flu jab.
Current Queensland Health advice is the preferred minimum interval between a dose of COVID-19 vaccine and any other vaccine is 7 days, however same day vaccination is possible.
Close contacts
The quarantine period for close contacts starts with Day 0 – the day your contact tests positive – and continues for 7 full days.
This means if someone in your household tests positive at 10am on Monday, you must quarantine for the rest of Monday plus 7 full days.
Under the Critically Essential Worker requirements, more than 100 staff have been able to return to work while close contacts. This is done with strict conditions and staff must meet specific criteria as a critically essential worker.
If you would like to be considered, please speak to your line manager or EOC about the criteria and process for returning to work while in quarantine.
Record your booster
Booster vaccinations are mandatory for all staff, volunteers and contractors entering a residential aged care facility. This includes any Metro North staff who don’t usually work in but may attend Cooinda and Gannet House.
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
- Go to the COVID-19 Vaccination Hub
- Choose the +Booster Vaccination option
- Add your booster details
- Upload or drag and drop your certificate
- Save
Boosters are highly recommended for all staff. There will be pop up vaccination clinics throughout the school holidays, so you can take the whole family along. Find your nearest clinic on the Queensland Health website.
Kind regards,
Louise O’Riordan
Metro North Health Incident Controller
_____________________________________________________________________
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 | ||||||
| 79 | 4 | 2 | 722 | 55 | 3 | 224 | |
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 | 26 | 157 | 0 | 17 | |
*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.