Victoria’s mask rules to stay in place in order to bring back mass gatherings
Melburnians are set to be stuck with mask rules even after vaccination targets are hit in order for football, Boxing Day Tests and concerts to make a comeback.
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Masks will be the key to allowing people back into mass gatherings such as the football, Boxing Day Tests and concerts.
It comes as a new Burnet Institute analysis has found Victoria’s introduction of mandatory face masks halted the state’s deadly second coronavirus wave.
Considered to be one of the most effective tools in stopping the spread of coronavirus – as well as the least restrictive – leading epidemiologists believe fitted face coverings will be one of the last requirement lifted at the end of Australia’s pandemic threat.
The University of Melbourne’s Prof Nancy Baxter said masks should play a role in Victorian life well into 2022, even when most Australians are vaccinated because the current Covid jabs still allow some people to become infected.
However, she said continuing to wear masks indoors and in high-risk settings could be the difference to allowing 80,000 fans at the MCG rather than 30,000.
“When you talk about masks compared to other non-pharmacological interventions, masks are the ones that allow you to do almost everything you want to do without an impediment – other than eating or kissing,” Prof Baxter said.
“It is inconvenient? Yes. Is it how we want to live forever? Probably not.
“But it doesn’t stop you from doing things and it does provide additional protection.”
Previous studies have found masks lower the chances of Covid transmission by between 40 and 70 per cent – which is seen as particularly important now given the increasing likelihood the Delta variant’s airborne threat is fuelling large outbreaks in the nations with the world’s highest vaccination rates.
The Burnett Institute’s Prof Michael Toole said lessons from highly vaccinated nations such as Israel and the UK show masks have an important role to play after high vaccination rates have been achieved.
Although the need for masks outdoors will ease when the community is not under immediate threat from an ongoing outbreak such as Victorian currently faces, Prof Toole said the threat of the Delta variant means they will be a staple of indoor life for a long time yet.
“Masks should the last thing we dispense with. They are the least intrusive measure we have at our disposal – and they are quite effective if worn properly,” Prof Toole said.
“They don’t disrupt the economy in any way. I think we will be wearing them indoors indefinitely.
“After the outbreak is over I think we should continue with indoor masks until there are no more cases in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide or anywhere else – then we might consider lifting it.”
An analysis by Melbourne’s Burnet Institute published in the PLOS ONE journal this week found the introduction of mandatory mask on 22 July 2020 turned an exponential increase in community transmission into an exponential decrease, almost overnight.
Co-lead author Dr Nick Scott found mandatory masks were “the single most important control measure that took place last year in bringing Melbourne’s second wave under control”.
However, Monash University’s Dr Michael Lydeamore said the newer threat of the Delta variant – which is believed to have been transmitted among people entering AAMI Park and at an MCG bar – will make masks even more important until vaccines offer community-wide coverage.
Once all Australians have had a chance to be vaccinated, Dr Lydeamore believes exemptions from indoor mask wearing could form part of a vaccination passport, though they would remain vital for the unvaccinated.
“The situation has changed a lot. We are seeing transmission at sporting events, cafes and places where the impact of a mask is going to be higher,” Dr Lydeamore said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go in outdoor settings but indoors I think they will stick around for the longest of everything.”
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