Classroom cover-up: Qld students urged to mask up

Queensland schools – both public and private – are urging students and staff to wear masks amid warnings the third Covid wave could take another four weeks to peak.

Parents are being told to make their children wear a mask at school amid warnings the state’s third Covid wave could take another four weeks to peak if Queenslanders don’t “take control”.

Some independent schools have mandated masks, with Clayfield College in Brisbane requiring students to carry a mask at all times and wear them at assemblies and events.

Queensland schools – both public and private – have this week been encouraging students and staff to wear masks when they can’t socially distance.

More than 11,600 new cases were recorded on Thursday, while the number of people being treated in hospitals remained unchanged at 1034 and 10 people died, one from the flu.

Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Health experts are now trying to determine when the current wave will peak despite previous predictions it would be towards the end of July or into August.

“The numbers are going up and we expect them to continue to go up a little while yet, we’re looking at the modelling, we’re trying to work through that as to when the peak is and that’s the most important part that we’re trying to work through,” Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken said.

Despite the grim warnings that the peak could be delayed, Dr Aitken insisted formal mask mandates were not “on the agenda”, saying Queenslanders were being trusted to do the right thing.

Ms Palaszczuk pleaded with Queenslanders to wear masks while indoors.

“If you’re indoors, put on a mask,” Ms Palaszczuk said, adding that parents should also talk to their children about wearing masks at school.

“Some people might think it’s not cool, but if you have elderly grandparents, you could be helping to save their lives,” she said.

“Please take this seriously.

“And if you have not had that booster go and get that booster.”

A mask-wearing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at a press conference on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Clayfield College principal Dr Andrew Cousins said the school’s mask requirement was introduced following the premier’s recommendation that masks be worn in indoor settings where social distancing is not possible.

“Our central focus continues to place student learning and community safety at the forefront of our decision-making process, in partnership with our families,” Dr Cousins said.

Dr Aitken said the BA. 4 and 5 strains weren’t more severe than the previous BA. 1 and 2.

“Any increase in hospitalisations is really just a reflection of case numbers,” he said.

“If anything, we’ve seen probably less ICU admissions than we have done in the previous peak for BA. 1 and BA.2.”

Dr Aitken said Queensland had “moved beyond that element where we’re telling people what to do.”

“The community knows what to do,” he said.

Asked about doctors having called for masks to be mandated, the acting CHO pointed to the national position.

“And the position is that we strongly encourage, we continue to encourage rather than mandating it and telling Queenslanders what to do, no one really likes being told what to do,” he said.

“At this stage, there is no mandate on the agenda.”

Year 12 Clayfield College student Alice Gardner with Year 6 student Myra Dhingra wearing their masks at school. Picture: Josh Woning

Meanwhile, infectious diseases expert Paul Griffin said the peak of the current wave could be more than a month away if Queenslanders didn’t take control of the situation.

While it’s tough to predict, Dr Griffin said people needed to understand the situation was “genuinely very significant” and could get worse without proper intervention.

“If we get everything right from now on, we could see the peak come fairly quickly and not be much higher than it is right now,” he said.

“But if we don’t intervene, then it could still be four weeks or longer before we see a peak and the magnitude could be much higher than what we’re seeing at the moment.”

But he said more needed to be done if the onus was on Queenslanders to wear masks as people were often driven by a selfish attitude rather than a social responsibility to stop the spread.

“Queenslanders need more positive messaging to drive home the need to wear masks. Text messaging from the government, free masks being handed out in busy indoor areas — any kind of education program that shows masks are worth it,” he said.

His comments come after research published in the Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation found that when people tested positive to the virus, they were less likely to wear a mask than if they were negative.

Dr Griffin said Queenslanders were given “premature” advice off the back of the last wave that the worst was over, saying there was a lack of evidence to support that call.

“I think there’s been an over reliance on modelling, particularly from some time ago,” he said.

“Modelling is useful … but we need a response that can be escalated for the worst case scenario, not a response that assumes the worst is over.”