Coronavirus: NSW upgrades mask policy after 12 new cases recorded

NSW is urging residents to wear masks on public transport and in supermarkets, as the state records 12 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday.

‘I, myself, when I next go grocery shopping, will be wearing a mask. If I were to catch a train or bus I would wear a mask’: Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

NSW has upgraded its advice on masks, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the “next few weeks will make or break us”.

The state recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, with clusters in Sydney’s inner-east and west growing.

Ms Berejiklian said the government recommended the public wear face masks in places of worship, virus hot spots, enclosed public spaces where social distancing is not possible such as public transport and if working in customer-facing business, such as a retail or hospitality.

Previously, the government had advised residents to wear masks in public where they could not physically distance.

NSW Labor has been calling for face coverings to be made mandatory on public transport.

“I, myself, when I next go grocery shopping, will be wearing a mask. If I were to catch a train or bus I would wear a mask,” Ms Berejiklian said on Sunday.

“And if my community had high rates or increasing rates of community transmission, I would wear a mask. These are recommendations to keep us all safe and they are recommendations to make sure we keep New South Wales in the position we are in.”

She stressed that NSW’s proximity to Melbourne, where 671 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Sunday, posed a continual risk to the state.

“No matter how strict you are at the borders, no border is complete, no border is impenetrable as Queensland themselves found out and as we’ve found as well.

“We are … doing OK, but I cannot stress enough that the next few weeks will make or break us, in terms of the way we get through this pandemic.”

The mask advice is not mandatory, but several retailers have announced they will recommend customers and staff to wear masks in store. From Monday, customers at Woolworths stores in NSW and ACT and Queensland hot spots as “strongly encouraged” to wear face coverings.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said masks were the “fourth line of defence,” after testing, social distancing and hand hygiene. But she noted masks were not suitable for everyone such as young children.

“Currently in NSW, the rate of community transmission does not call for mandatory mask use in the general population,” she said. “The sorts of venues we are calling out are those where people are likely to breach the 1.5 metre distance, things like supermarkets where you might inadvertently have to crowd for a short period of time. We are asking hospitality workers to wear masks.”