Chief doctor pleads for mask-wearing amid ‘significant’ new threat

The nation’s top doctor has warned the latest Omicron subvariant poses a “significant” new threat, urging Australians to wear masks indoors as the government paused plans to wind up the COVID-19 vaccine taskforce and launched a campaign to lift the takeup of boosters.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly cautioned the BA.5 variant was much more infectious than earlier strains and noted vaccines alone did not stop transmission.

Health Minister Mark Butler and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly during a press conference at Parliament House on Tuesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Along with mask-wearing, he encouraged people to get their booster shots or fourth doses if eligible, work from home if possible and said antiviral medications would also “help to protect the vulnerable”.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 had “increased very dramatically over recent weeks” from fewer than 3000 to more than 5200 patients, close to the January peak of 5300 cases, while Kelly said the current wave was only just beginning.

“This third Omicron wave for 2022 is proving to be a very, very significant one,” he said.

Butler said hospitalisations were “almost certain to increase further” over the coming weeks and the number of total infections was “likely to be more than double” the 300,000 recorded in the past seven days.

“Two doses of COVID vaccines just are not enough to provide you with full protection, particularly against these Omicron subvariants,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.

“The third dose rate just isn’t shifting fast enough and I strongly urge people who are eligible for a third dose but have not yet had it to go out and get that booster. It will provide you with extra protection, particularly against the possibility of severe disease.”

More than 5 million Australians are yet to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster six months or more after receiving their primary course, prompting the government to launch a social media campaign urging people to get a fourth jab.

Lieutenant-General John Frewen had been expected to finish up as COVID-19 Taskforce commander within weeks and return to the Defence Department, where he has been appointed to the new role of Chief of Joint Capabilities. The vaccine program would then be absorbed back into the Health Department.

But a spokeswoman for Butler said the government was yet to decide when this would happen.

“The government is focused on lifting third and fourth dose rates,” the spokeswoman said. “Recent uptake of fourth doses since we expanded eligibility has been very encouraging but we need to see this continue.”

Both Butler and Kelly wore masks at the press conference, signalling a shift away from the COVID-normal stance of recent months.

Kelly urged people to wear masks indoors as the latest wave of COVID-19 puts pressure on hospitals.

“We know that wearing masks [does] reduce the spread and protects yourself and others,” he said.

“If you’re away from home and indoors in a crowded place, I really very strongly suggest that you do wear masks ... This will not be forever, but for the next few weeks this is the way we can actually influence the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable people in our community and also protect our healthcare systems.”

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, made up of federal and state chief medical officers, on Tuesday published a statement outlining concerns about the rapid spread of Omicron variant BA.5, which the advisory group presented to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state leaders at Saturday’s national cabinet meeting.

Kelly, who chairs the committee, said the message to government was that the new variant “is circulating in the community and it poses a significant new threat ... because it’s much more infectious than earlier variants [and] it’s also very good at escaping immunity.”

Butler, asked if mask mandates should be reinstated, replied: “That is not the advice that was issued by the chief health officers last week.”

The minister said fourth dose rates among aged care residents had improved, with up to 76 per cent having received one, compared with about 52 per cent last month.

“This will have a dramatic impact on the protection of our most vulnerable members of the community, members or residents of aged-care facilities,” he said.

The video in the government’s booster campaign features Albanese, who says 560,000 Australians received their fourth COVID-19 shot last week alone.

“That’s doing the right thing by themselves, by their family, by their community. So well done,” he says. “Congratulations and thank you. If you haven’t got your shot yet, and you’re eligible, please log on to health.gov.au and organise to get your booster shot and get protected today.”

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended fourth doses for anyone aged over 70 and people over 50 with two additional risk factors.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, people aged 30 years or older and with two additional risk factors are advised to get the fourth jab, which is also available to anyone over 30 who wants it.

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