Protecting Queenslanders from COVID-19

The QAS has again played a frontline role over the last few months protecting Queenslanders from COVID-19.

QAS staff working at our testing clinci at the Eight Mile Plains Community Health Centre

QAS staff working at our testing clinic at the Eight Mile Plains Community Health Centre

Preparing for our international arrivals

Supporting Defence Force staff and refugees from Afghanistan in quarantine.

On two occasions when outbreaks threatened in the Metro South Region, paramedics and administration staff worked tirelessly providing the community with COVID testing at a QAS-led 24-hour clinic in Eight Mile Plains.

Rapid coordination and deployments by the QAS State Operations Coordination Centre (SOCC) and Emergency Management Unit (EMU) saw the Eight Mile Plains Community Health Centre on McKechnie Drive repurposed into a functioning testing clinic and accepting patients within a matter of hours.

A total of 5,835 people flowed through the clinic during the initial 12-day operation in early August, while a fourday stint from 10 September resulted in a further 1,519 swabs undertaken.

Ironically, the very first person tested at the clinic returned a positive COVID-19 result.

The seamless work conducted by over 150 QAS operational and support staff drew specific commendation from Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young and Director-General Dr John Wakefield.

This gratitude culminated in a Certificate of Appreciation from our colleagues at Queensland Health for alleviating pressure during crucial periods in Queensland’s outbreak response.

Our paramedics were also on hand to support the relocation of Defence Force staff in quarantine, to make way for the flights repatriating or offering a safe haven for people fleeing Afghanistan.

QAS Acting Director Operations Jeremy Wickham and Metro South HHS COVID-19 Incident Controller Dr Michael Cleary.