Victoria looks to liberate the face
VICTORIANS are becoming relaxed about face masks and as the weather warms pressure is mounting to reduce their use in certain situations, an epidemiologist says.
It comes as Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton on Sunday flagged a transition from universal mask wearing to just wearing them in highrisk settings, such as indoors, at the “appropriate time”.
Deakin University epidemiology chair Catherine Bennett said people were beginning to make their own decisions about when they felt wearing a mask was useful.
“It’s always a risk and, if the weather gets warmer, people will find them less comfortable, and as the numbers go down — great news — but at the same time I think we’re seeing more people now starting to relax and wear them below the nose, if not below the chin,” Professor Bennett told radio 3AW yesterday.
“We are reaching that point where there is still a place for them. It still does help us, should there still be virus out there spreading in your community that you don’t know about. It just reduces the risk that bit.”
Prof Bennett said she expected that, given the chief health officer’s indications, rules on mask wearing would move in time to focus on highrisk zones only, such as indoors and public transport.
“I think probably the sooner, the better,” she said.
“The weather’s ticking up to 29 this week. The pressure’s on now to say: ‘Let’s pull it back, but get it right in those areas where it still really can help.’ ”
Mr Sutton on Sunday indicated such a move was likely.
“Clearly we will be transitioning … from universal mask wearing to maybe indoors only to maybe just high-risk settings at the appropriate time,” he said.
“But masks are a small impost for the individual, for us collectively, to get us to the freedoms that we’re all looking for and beginning to enjoy.
“It’s madness to give up on some of these small imposts when they’re exactly the thing that are getting us these zero days and are getting us to the summer that we want and the summer that we should have.”
It comes as Victoria again recorded no new coronavirus cases and no additional deaths.
Yesterday marked the third consecutive day of no new cases or deaths being reported for the state.