Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 386 | 7/04/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current Tier 3 situation
- Mask wearing
- Record your booster
There are 10,984 new COVID cases reported in Queensland.
Current Tier 3 situation
Metro North has 855 staff currently out of the workplace due to either being close contacts or COVID positive. This is in addition to other sick leave and planned school holiday leave.
We currently have 794 patients in our care, including 81 inpatients with 6 in ICU. We are working to create more inpatient capacity for COVID patients in our acute facilities.
So far we have supported 144 staff who are close contacts to return to work under the Critically Essential Worker requirements.
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.
Mask wearing
There was concern raised on the vidcast that staff have not been wearing masks as diligently as they once were. Mask wearing at our facilities is still very much mandatory.
Please note that even though there are some restrictions lifting next Thursday, the following face mask wearing rules are still in place:
- Masks are required in healthcare settings, residential aged care, disability accommodation, on public transport, in prisons, detention centres, airports and on planes
- Masks are required for visitors to healthcare settings, but mask may be removed while undergoing a face-to-face service (as determined by healthcare provider)
- Masks are required on public transport or its platform/ terminal, or when in or waiting for a taxi, rideshare vehicle or commercial shuttle.
Record your booster
Evidence of you COVID vaccine booster can be uploaded to the Queensland Health COVID-19 Vaccination Hub easily:
- 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
Find your nearest clinic on the Queensland Health website including school holiday pop ups.
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 | ||||||
81 | 5 | 1 | 794 | 55 | 3 | 247 |
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 | 17 | 163 | 0 | 11 |
*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.