{"id":4981,"date":"2021-04-27T11:36:20","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T01:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metronorth.health.qld.gov.au\/extranet\/?p=4981"},"modified":"2021-04-27T11:47:38","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T01:47:38","slug":"23-april-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metronorth.health.qld.gov.au\/extranet\/covid-ic\/23-april-2021","title":{"rendered":"23 April 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"Metro<\/span><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

23 April 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear colleagues,<\/p>\n

Changes to the vaccine program<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday afternoon the Prime Minister announced that National Cabinet had agreed to bring forward\u00a0vaccinations\u00a0to phase 2a for people aged 50 and over\u00a0to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.\u00a0State-run clinics, such as ours, will be able to offer this to over 50s from 3 May, and GP clinics will be able to offer this from 17 May.\u00a0We will begin offering this to\u00a0those\u00a0over 50s\u00a0that are within our area of responsibility\u00a0as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Pfizer remains the preferred vaccine for people under 50,\u00a0due to the\u00a0small but serious risk of complications with the AstraZeneca vaccine.\u00a0Pfizer will also continue to be made available to aged and disability care workers, frontline and quarantine workers\u00a0in the 1a and 1b cohorts.<\/p>\n

PPE fit testing<\/strong><\/p>\n

We continue to fast-track\u00a0fit testing program\u00a0focusing initially on staff in\u00a0(and directly supporting)\u00a0COVID wards,\u00a0Hotel Quarantine,\u00a0Fever Clinics and ICU.\u00a0By close of business today there will be just over 500 people tested. Testing\u00a0will continue over the weekend\u00a0to RBWH and TPCH staff working in COVID positive wards and hotel quarantine.\u00a0\u00a0Our\u00a0wider program\u00a0to broader priority staff will\u00a0continue\u00a0on\u00a0Tuesday.\u00a0Our aim is to have over 3500\u00a0people\u00a0fit\u00a0tested by early May.<\/p>\n

Please be patient whilst we roll out this fit testing program to you all.<\/p>\n

Today we completed\u00a0\u2018train the tester\u2019\u00a0training\u00a0to key\u00a0CSDS\u00a0personnel. This\u00a0small but excellent\u00a0team is now trained to be able to do testing right across our health service. Once we get to the end of\u00a0our\u00a0initial\u00a0priority\u00a0testing\u00a0program\u00a0we will be doing\u00a0further\u00a0train the tester training, so that\u00a0we can have sustainable fit testing within\u00a0all of\u00a0our\u00a0high risk\u00a0areas.<\/p>\n

If this program is unable to find an appropriately fitting P2\/N95 mask for you, please notify your supervisor\/line manager and we will work with you to find an appropriate solution tailored to your situation.<\/p>\n

For more information, see\u00a0our\u00a0FAQs<\/a>\u00a0and broader\u00a0PPE resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

International\u00a0arrivals<\/strong><\/p>\n

National Cabinet\u00a0has\u00a0agreed to extend the 50\u00a0per cent\u00a0reduction of international passengers into Brisbane until 11.59 pm on Tuesday 27 April 2021.\u00a0This will then revert to 1300 passengers per week as of midnight,\u00a0Wednesday\u00a028 April. Passenger numbers\u00a0into Brisbane from Papua New Guinea will remain at a 25\u00a0per cent\u00a0reduction, however we are currently awaiting advice\u00a0in relation to the recommencement of FIFO workers.<\/p>\n

In the last 24 hours, India has recorded the highest global daily increase of new COVID-19 cases.\u00a0Because of this, the Prime Minister has also announced a temporary reduction in the number of flights from India by 30 per\u00a0cent<\/p>\n

Changes to quarantine arrangements<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of 9 am today, 23 April 2021, important changes have been made to the\u00a0Quarantine for International Arrivals Direction (No. 8)<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n