Dear colleagues,

Metro North is currently managing five people with COVID-19. All are returned international travellers who have been in hotel quarantine. Under the current direction from the Chief Health Officer, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 is being cared for as an inpatient in our facilities. There have been no new cases overnight.

Queensland border update

Under Stage 5 of the Government’s Roadmap to easing restrictions, border restrictions have eased. People who have not been in a COVID-19 hotspot in the past 14 days can enter Queensland with a signed border declaration. Queensland residents returning from a hotspot must undergo mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine at their own expense.

There has also been a change allowing people in hotel quarantine from an area that is no longer considered a hotspot to leave quarantine but they must leave Queensland. They can re-enter Queensland under the current entry requirements.

Christmas staff gatherings

With Christmas only about 7 weeks away, many teams across Metro North will be starting to plan your end of year staff get togethers. Queensland Health has released some tips on how to hold a COVID safe festive season gathering.

While we definitely encourage staff to take some time to have fun together, please remember that as healthcare professionals, we need to be setting a good example so stick to whatever directive is in play at that time.

Remember to continue to check on your colleagues. The festive season is a good opportunity to look out for friends, colleagues and family. Remember those simple words…R U OK?  So important and could be the conversation that makes the difference for someone. With many of us still isolated from loved ones either interstate or overseas, this time of year it is particularly important to make sure that we look after colleagues who may be feeling the combination of stress of isolation and busy working lives. It is okay to ask for help, and it is okay to offer it.

Dave update

A number of people have been asking me how Dave is. Well, Dave is getting to be a very big boy. He is nearly 6 months old and weighs in at 23 kg. I have attached a picture of him. He is a clever fellow and loves his morning walks…we are now at the stage that he wakes me, so I don’t have a great deal of choice as to if I get out of bed or not.

One of his very bad habits though is that he likes to dig, so my husband’s manicured lawn is not looking quite so manicured, and the summer plants that I planted last week are no longer thriving. We are trying to keep him occupied but alas he is not particularly motivated by food, so it is a challenge. Hopefully that nonsense will stop soon!

Hope you all have a wonderful week. The weather is glorious so take some time to enjoy the sunshine and with a bit of luck if we have any summer storms they will not be quite as harsh as they have been over preceding weeks.

Take care and until next time.

Kind regards,

Alanna Geary
Metro North Incident Controller

Current MN Response Tier Activated – Tier 0

Metro North HHS – Overview of Cases*

*With effect 09 November 2020, 1000
**Metro North has three recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North.