Could wearing masks in public be the answer to Victoria’s Covid death rises? Researchers think so

A Melbourne study has found permanent public mask-wearing would reduce mortality rates, but would you do it?

Forty-five Victorians have died this week from Covid, up from 39 last week.

It comes after a Melbourne study showed permanently wearing masks in public would reduce Covid mortality rates by 25 per cent over 12 months.

The Victorian Department of Health on Friday reported there had been 45 Covid deaths across the state in the past week, an average of six per day.

Another 128 Victorians were currently in hospital, with three in intensive care, it reported.

The hospitalisation rate is trending downwards — at 11 per cent lower this week than last — but deaths have risen.

“Covid hospital admissions continued to decrease this week, with the level of Covid wastewater detections also at relatively lower levels. This indicates a sustained reduction in the number of infections in Victoria,” the department said in a statement.

“Transmissions continue to be driven by multiple Omicron recombinant XBB sublineages, accounting for 76 per cent of circulating variants from wastewater surveillance. This includes XBB.1.16 (26 per cent), XBB.1.5 (four per cent), XBB.1.9 (18 per cent), and other mixed XBB sublineages (27 per cent). Other variants include CH.1.1 (seven per cent).”

Could permanent masks in public become Vic policy?

Wearing masks all the time when outside the home during Covid waves could be the best way of preventing deaths, new Melbourne research shows.

In findings that the University of Melbourne research team says could help inform Victorian mask policy in the future, it’s been shown consistent face covering — as opposed to just during peaks — would reduce Covid mortality by 25 per cent over 12 months.

The Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics team — led by epidemiologist Prof Tony Blakely — is also studying vaccine effectiveness in Victoria, in research sponsored by Moderna.

Epidemiologist Tony Blakely’s team has studied the effectiveness of wearing masks all the time in Victoria, while in public. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Prof Blakely rose to prominence in 2020, when he modelled the road map which the Andrews government applied to its second 111-day Covid lockdown.

He also prominently lobbied for child Covid vaccinations.

Researcher Samantha Howe said: “If a highly virulent variant of SARS-CoV-2 were to emerge in the next year or so, our modelling supports widespread mask wearing throughout the wave – not just at the peak of the wave.”

The modelling — which simulated the population of Victoria to investigate whether the likelihood of contracting Covid was reduced by wearing a mask at all times outside the home — showed more deaths were prevented if all age groups wore masks, all the time, not just the elderly and frail.

The research shows deaths are prevented if Victorians of all ages wear masks, at all times when in public. Picture: Getty

“However, given population fatigue with wearing masks, wide public compliance with mask wearing may simply not be achievable,” Ms Howe said.

The research paper, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, states: “The net impact of mask wearing will vary according to the levels of other interventions, including vaccination rates. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that consistently higher mask wearing rates across all ages would reduce the cumulative infection and mortality burden in Victoria.”

Last week 39 Victorians died of Covid and 142 people were hospitalised with the virus as of Friday night.

Nearly 8,200 Victorians have died of Covid since the pandemic first hit.

Originally published as Could wearing masks in public be the answer to Victoria’s Covid death rises? Researchers think so