Government Under Pressure To Reinstate Mask Mandates Nationwide

The Australian government are being out under “increasing pressure” to reintroduce mask mandates nationwide as the number of Covid related deaths continues to rise.

Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said in an interview with 4BC radio that the possibility of reintroducing mask mandates was currently being “discussed”.

"I can say that nationally, there is increasing pressure, there is a school of thought that we should be mandating masks again," he said.

The call for mask mandates comes as the country reports a total of 34,931 new cases within the last 24 hours. 

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There are now 3,272 people in hospitals across the country being treated for Covid with numbers only increasing.

Dr Gerrard said the government would prefer to limit mandates and restrictions in favour of regular Covid booster vaccinations. 

"We want to move away from restrictions, towards more self-regulation and self-responsibility – that means being up-to-date with your vaccines," he said.

Health authorities have warned the country may be in for a third Covid outbreak with variants such as the BA.4 and BA.5 variants spreading rapidly.

Dr Gerrard said the country will likely be dealing with “ongoing” outbreaks as different variants continue to immerge.

"There will be ongoing waves with new variants going on for months, or even years, and the era of public health directions is coming to an end," he said.

Dr Gerrard said the best way to combat the virus is to keep up to date with our booster shots.

"I really am concerned that almost all the patients we're seeing in hospital are not up to date, they're mostly people over the age of 65," he said.

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