Superseded - Hospital Entry Direction (No. 2)

This direction has been superseded on 12 August 2021. See the current Hospital Visitor Entry Direction (No. 2).

Summary

Effective from: 1am AEST 23 July 2021

Posted: 23 July 2021

Superseded on: 12 August 2021

Direction from Chief Health Officer in accordance with emergency powers arising from the declared public health emergency

Public Health Act 2005 (Qld)

Section 362B

On 29 January 2020, under the Public Health Act 2005, the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services made an order declaring a public health emergency in relation to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The public health emergency area specified in the order is for ‘all of Queensland’. Its duration has been extended by regulation to 27 September 2021 and may be further extended.

Further to this declaration, l, Dr Jeannette Young, Chief Health Officer, reasonably believe it is necessary to give the following directions pursuant to the powers under s 362B of the Public Health Act 2005 to assist in containing, or to respond to, the spread of COVID-19 within the community.

Preamble

  1. This Public Health Direction replaces the Public Health Direction referred to as the Hospital Entry Direction made on 7 July 2021 and is the successor of that Direction.

  2. This Public Health Direction is to be read in conjunction with other Public Health Directions issued under section 362B of the Public Health Act 2005 that have not expired or been revoked.

Citation

  1. This Public Health Direction may be referred to as the Hospital Entry Direction (No.2).

Revocation

  1. The Hospital Entry Direction made on 7 July 2021 is revoked from 1.00am on 23 July 2021 and is replaced by this Direction.

Commencement

  1. This Direction applies from 1.00am on 23 July 2021 until the end of the declared public health emergency, unless it is revoked or replaced.

PART 1 – ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL HOSPITALS

  1. This part applies to all hospitals in the State of Queensland.

  2. A person, other than a patient of the hospital, must not enter, or remain at, a hospital in the State of Queensland if:

    1. the person has been diagnosed with COVID-19, unless the person is no longer subject to a direction to self-isolate under section 362B or section 362H of the Public Health Act 2005; or

    2. during the 14 days immediately preceding the entry, the person who is an international arrival arrived in Australia from a place outside Australia; or

    3. during the 14 days immediately preceding the entry, or since the start date identified for the COVID-19 hotspot, whichever is shorter, the person has been in a place which at the time of entry is a COVID-19 hotspot; outside of the  Border Zone; or

      Note: see Part 6  for when a person is taken to have been in a COVID-19 hotspot

      Example: A person travels to Queensland from Orange, NSW on 20 July. On 22 July, Orange, NSW is declared a hotspot with an identified start date of 22 July. The relevant date for considering entry to the hospital is 22 July, the date that the hotspot was identified. Since the person has not been in Orange on or after 22 July, they are able to enter the hospital. Once Orange is declared not to be a hotspot, the restricted period no longer applies and a person who was in Orange while it was a hotspot can then enter the hospital even if it is less than 14 days since they were in Orange.

    4. the person has been to an interstate exposure venue, unless 14 days have passed since the person was at the interstate exposure venue; or

      Note: a person who has been to an interstate exposure venue must quarantine as required by the Interstate Exposure Venues Direction (No. 2) or successor.

    5. during the 14 days immediately preceding the entry, or since the start date identified for the interstate area of concern (vulnerable facilities), the person has been in a place which at the time of entry is an interstate area of concern (vulnerable facilities); or

    6. the person has been informed they are a close contact of a diagnosed person, unless their quarantine period has ended; or

    7. the person has a temperature equal to or higher than 37.5 degrees or symptoms consistent with COVID-19; or

    8. the person has been tested for COVID-19 and has not yet received the results of that test; or

    9. the person is entering as a student for a clinical placement in connection with an enrolled course of study and has been in a restricted area in the preceding 14 days, unless the person is a vaccinated student.

      Example: A student, who is not vaccinated, was in an area identified as a restricted area on 1 July. From 1 July, the student is unable to enter a restricted hospital. The area ceased to be a restricted area on 4 July. From 4 July, the student is able to enter any hospital; there is no requirement to wait 14 days from the time the student was in the restricted area.

Exception for people entering from interstate area of concern

  1. Despite paragraph 7(e), a person may enter and remain on the premises of a hospital, if the person obtains a negative COVID-19 test result in Queensland after returning from an interstate area of concern (vulnerable facilities).

Exception for a person waiting for a COVID-19 test result

  1. Despite paragraph 7(h), a person may enter a hospital if the person is awaiting the result of a COVID-19 test taken in accordance with a surveillance testing obligation under a Public Health Direction or Protocol approved by the Chief Health Officer.

    Note: A person awaiting COVID-19 tests results as part of a surveillance testing obligation must still comply with the requirements in paragraphs 7(a) to (g). For example, a person awaiting results of a routine COVID-19 test required under a protocol must not enter, or remain on, the premises of a hospital if they have symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

Obligation on operators

  1. The operator of a hospital in the State of Queensland must take all reasonable steps to ensure that a person does not enter or remain within a hospital if the person is prohibited from doing so under this Direction.

End of life visitors (international arrivals, COVID-19 hotspots and interstate exposure venues)

  1. Despite paragraphs 7(b) to 7(d), a person may enter, or remain at, a hospital if:

    1. the person's presence at the hospital is for the purpose of an end of life visit for a patient of the hospital; and

    2. the person has been granted an exemption by the Chief Health Officer, Deputy Chief Health Officer or delegate for an end of life visit under a Public Health Direction.

    Note: For clarity, end of life visitors from an interstate area of concern who have obtained a negative COVID-19 test result under paragraph 8 do not require an exemption.

  2. A person who enters a hospital under an exemption granted under paragraph 11(b) must comply with all conditions imposed by the Chief Health Officer, Deputy Chief Health Officer or delegate under the exemption.

  3. If a person enters a facility under paragraph 11, the operator of the hospital must manage the person’s visit in accordance with the conditions imposed by the Chief Health Officer, Deputy Chief Health Officer or delegate under the exemption.

    Example: An operator may need to ensure the patient being visited is in a single room, the visitor wears appropriate personal protective equipment, is escorted to and from the room, and avoids common areas and contact with other patients, visitors and staff.

PART 2 – MANAGING VISITOR ACCESS TO NON-RESTRICTED HOSPITALS

Visiting patients

  1. There is no limit under this Public Health Direction on the number of visitors at a non-restricted hospital.

    Note - All visitors remain subject to each hospital’s clinical guidelines for COVID-19. These clinical guidelines may be more restrictive than this direction, for example, in relation to the number and type of visitors. See paragraphs 15 and 16 for requirements for visitors to a restricted hospital.

PART 3 – MANAGING ENTRY TO RESTRICTED HOSPITALS

Students entering a hospital in a restricted area

  1. A student must not enter, or remain on, the premises of a restricted hospital for the purpose of a clinical placement in connection with an enrolled course of study unless they are a vaccinated student. This includes a student who is not vaccinated because of a contraindication.

    Note: nothing in this Direction prevents a student from entering a hospital for another reason such as they are a patient of the hospital or making a permitted end of life visit.

Visiting patients in a restricted area

  1. Subject to paragraph 17, a patient of a hospital in a restricted area may not have visitors.

  2. The following patients of a restricted hospital may have visitors in accordance with the hospital’s clinical guidelines for COVID-19 approved by the operator of the hospital:

    1. a patient of the hospital who is a child; or

    2. a patient of the hospital being provided end of life care; or

      Note – Paragraphs 11 to 13 require particular persons to obtain an exemption before attending a hospital for an end of life visit.

    3. a patient of the hospital being provided pregnancy or maternity related care; or

    4. a patient of the hospital with a disability who requires support from a disability support worker or an informal carer; or

      Example: A person may require support from a disability support worker or person who has provided long-term informal support, such as a family member or friend.

    5. other patients that the operator of the hospital believes is necessary to have visitors for emergency or other compassionate grounds.

PART 4 – ELECTRONIC COLLECTION OF CONTACT INFORMATION

  1. The operator of a hospital must make all reasonable efforts to electronically collect contact information about all visitors to a hospital, including volunteers and contractors, at the time of entry, by either:

    1. requesting visitors use the Check In Qld app; or

    2. registering visitors through the Business Profile mode of the Check In Qld app.

      Example – a person may be unable to use the Check In Qld app due to age, disability, language barriers or does not possess the technology or own a mobile phone. The hospital must register the visitor through the Business Profile mode.

      Note – contact information must be collected for visitors to non-restricted hospitals and visitors permitted to visit restricted hospitals under paragraph 17 of the Direction.

  2. Despite paragraph 18, an operator of a hospital is not required to request a person’s contact information under paragraph 18 if:

    1. the person is entering a hospital in an emergency or entering to provide emergency services; or

    2. the person is or appears to be younger than 16 years old and is not accompanied by a responsible parent or adult; or

    3. it is not reasonable to request contact information based on compassionate grounds or a risk to a person’s safety.

  3. An operator of a hospital must make all reasonable efforts to clearly display the Check In Qld app QR code at each entry to the hospital that is used by visitors, including volunteers or contractors.

  4. A person who is permitted to enter a hospital under this Direction as a visitor, including volunteers and contractors, must at the time of entry provide the person’s contact information to the operator of a hospital by:

    1. using the Check In Qld App; or

    2. providing their contact details to the operator of a hospital to be registered using the Business Profile mode of the Check In Qld app; or

    3. if another method of collection is being used under paragraph 24, using that method.

  5. If a person is unable to provide contact information because of age, disability or an inability to speak or comprehend the language used by the Check In Qld App or the other method of collection, another person may provide contact information on the person’s behalf.

  6. Despite paragraph 21, a person who is permitted to enter a hospital under this Direction as a visitor, including volunteers and contractors, is not required to provide the person’s contact information to the operator of a hospital if:

    1. the person is entering a hospital in an emergency or entering to provide emergency services; or

    2. the person is under the age of 16 years old and is not accompanied by a responsible parent or adult; or

    3. it is not reasonable for a person to provide contact information based on compassionate grounds or a risk to a person’s safety.

    Example – a support person accompanying a person arriving to the hospital in an ambulance in an emergency situation is not required to provide their contact information on entry to the hospital.

Collection of contact information using another method due to temporary circumstances

  1. If an operator of a hospital cannot electronically collect contact information for visitors to the hospital at the time of entry because it is not possible to use the Check In Qld app due to unexpected circumstances or because the business is located in a place that does not have mobile internet data connection, the person must collect and keep contact information using another method.

    Example – another electronic method such as a spreadsheet or another method such as a paper-based form.

    Note - unexpected circumstances may include temporary issues with failure of an internet service or breakdown in the Check In Qld app.

  2. If contact information is collected using ‘another method’ under paragraph 24, the operator of a hospital must:

    1. use best endeavours to transfer any non-electronic information to an electronic system within 24 hours of collecting the information; and

      Example - an electronic method such as a spreadsheet

    2. comply with the requirements for collection and storage; and

    3. if requested, provide the information collected under paragraph 24 and the electronic information under paragraph 25(a) to a public health officer within a stated time.

PART 5 – EXEMPTIONS

  1. The Chief Health Officer may, in writing, grant an exemption from this direction in respect of a specified area of a hospital if the Chief Health Officer is satisfied, having regard to the need to limit the spread of COVID-19, that an exemption is appropriate due to:

    1. the nature of the area; or

    2. the existing limits on the number of people that may be present in the area (whether because of the operation of a direction under the Public Health Act 2005 or otherwise).

PART 6 – OTHER MATTERS

  1. A person is taken not to have been in a COVID-19 hotspot under this Direction if the person complies with the transit exceptions in paragraph 6 of the Border Restrictions Direction (No. 26) or its successor.

    Note: under the Border Restrictions Direction a person is taken not to have been in a COVID-19 hotspot if they

    1. arrived in a COVID-19 hotspot by air for the sole purpose of transiting through an approved airport in the COVID-19 hotspot and did not leave the confines of the airport; or

    2. transited through a COVID-19 hotspot by road using private transport stopping only for essential fuel and fatigue management, wore a face mask at all times when stopping and did not stay overnight in a COVID-19 hotspot; or

    3. arrived in a COVID-19 hotspot by road and used private transport to travel directly from their point of arrival to an airport in a COVID-19 hotspot, stopping only for essential fuel and fatigue management, wore a face mask at all times when stopping, to depart the COVID-19 hotspot by air.

  2. Definitions used in this Direction are in Schedule 1.

PART 7 – PENALTIES

A person to whom the direction applies commits an offence if the person fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the direction.

Section 362D of the Public Health Act 2005 provides:

Failure to comply with public health directions

  • A person to whom a public health direction applies must comply with the direction unless the person has a reasonable excuse.
  • Maximum penalty—100 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment.

Dr Jeannette Young
Chief Health Officer

23 July 2021

Published on the Queensland Health website at 1:00 am

SCHEDULE 1 – DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Direction:

Australia means the Commonwealth of Australia and includes the external territories of Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands and Heard and McDonald Islands but excludes the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Border zone has the same meaning as in the Border Restrictions Direction (No.28) or its successors https://www.qld.gov.au/health/covid19/travel-declaration-map.

Business Profile mode means the ability for businesses to electronically register by entering customer contact details via ‘Check In Qld Business Profile mode’ listed in the profile section of the app.

Check In Qld app means the app developed by the Queensland Government for contact tracing purposes which, when used by a person, provides the Queensland Government with the person’s contact information and details of the person’s attendance at a hospital.

Note – Each person should check in individually using the Check In Qld app or have a person in their group or the hospital check in on their behalf.

Close contact has the same meaning as in the Management of Close Contacts Direction (No. 2) or its successor.

Contact information means, at a minimum, the name, phone number, email address, and the date and time of attendance of visitors, volunteers and contractors.

Contractor means an individual who provides construction, repair, or maintenance services on an unscheduled or intermittent basis. A contractor does not include a visiting medical practitioner or health practitioners providing health services on the hospital premises.
Examples: repairing or maintaining a lift or providing plumbing services to repair a broken toilet.

COVID-19 hotspot means a particular area of Australia decided by the Chief Health Officer and published on the Queensland Health website https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/legislation/cho-public-health-directions-under-expanded-public-health-act-powers/declared-hotspots-direction.

Diagnosed person has the same meaning as in the Management of Close Contacts Direction (No. 2) or its successor.

Emergency officer (public health) means an emergency officer appointed under the Public Health Act 2005.
Note: Emergency officers appointed under the Public Health Act 2005 include public health officers and police.

End of life visit means a hospital visit by a person for the purposes of end-of-life support for a patient of the hospital.

Hospital means:

  1. a hospital, as defined in schedule 2 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011; or

  2. a private health facility, as defined in section 8 of the Private Health Facilities Act 1999; or

  3. a multi-purpose service, as defined in section 104 of the Subsidy Principles 2014 made under section 96-1 of the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth).

International arrival means a person who arrives in Queensland on a flight that is not a quarantine-free flight or who, in the 14 days immediately before their arrival to Queensland -

  1. has been in a place outside Australia, other than a safe travel zone country; or

  2. arrived in Australia by sea; or

  3. arrived in Australia by air on a flight that is not a quarantine-free flight, regardless of whether the flight originated from a safe travel zone country; or

  4. has been in a place declared a safe travel zone country hotspot.

Interstate area of concern means a particular area of Australia decided by the Chief Health Officer and published on the Queensland Government website https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/legislation/cho-public-health-directions-under-expanded-public-health-act-powers/interstate-areas-of-concern for the purpose of restricting visitors to vulnerable facilities including residential aged care, shared disability accommodation services and hospitals.

Interstate exposure venue has the same meaning as in the Interstate Exposure Venues Direction (No. 2) or its successor.

Non-restricted hospital means a hospital, other than a restricted hospital.

Operator of a hospital means a person who owns, controls or operates the hospital.

Example: The Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer or Executive Director of a hospital.

Patient of the hospital means a person who requests or is being provided with health, medical or pharmaceutical services by the hospital.

Quarantine-free flight means a flight that only carries passengers who have declared that in the 14 days prior to the flight’s departure they have only been in a safe travel zone country and have not been in a safe travel zone country hotspot.

Note: Information about quarantine free flights is available from the Australian Department of Home Affairs: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/new-zealand-safe-travel-zone

Restricted area means a particular area of Queensland decided by the Chief Health Officer and published on the Queensland Government website. https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/legislation/cho-public-health-directions-under-expanded-public-health-act-powers/queensland-covid-19-restricted-areas

Restricted hospital means a hospital located in a restricted area.

Safe travel zone country has the same meaning as in the Quarantine for International Arrivals Direction (No. 9), or its successor.

Safe travel zone country hotspot has the same meaning as in the Quarantine for International Arrivals Direction (No. 9), or its successor.

Student means a student who:

  1. in connection with an enrolled course of study, is undertaking a placement under the supervision of an employee or contractor at the hospital; or

  2. is entering the hospital as part of a placement in connection with an enrolled course of study.

    Example for paragraph (b): a paramedical student.

Surveillance testing obligation means a requirement under a Public Health Direction or Protocol approved by the Chief Health Officer for a person to be routinely tested for COVID-19, who does not have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and is not required to self-isolate while awaiting a test result unless there is another lawful reason for them to isolate.

Symptoms consistent with COVID-19 means fever or history of fever, symptoms of acute respiratory infection (cough, shortness of breath, sore throat), loss of smell, loss of taste, runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting or fatigue.

Vaccinated Student means a student who has received the prescribed number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for use in Australia or endorsed by WHO-COVAX and the vaccination was obtained overseas.

Note: Information about the World Health Organization COVAX program and WHO emergency use listing is available here: WHO COVID-19 vaccines

Last updated: 12 August 2021