The dreaded mask synonymous with the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to be a must-have accessory in Queensland as the state prepares to open its borders.
Residents living in the southeast could’ve been forgiven for thinking the face covering mandate could soon be coming to an end.
Acting chief health officer Dr Peter Aitken said while there may be a “reprieve” while there were no cases of community transmission, it would be short-lived.
“That’s something we’re looking at; at the moment and it may be an opportunity to relax some of those restrictions and mask wearing,” he said on Monday.
However, Dr Aitken said that would change once Queensland opens its borders to the rest of the country, including to those in NSW and Victoria.
“As our case numbers go up – and they inevitably will – and as we start to reach 80 per cent double-vaccinated and we start to have people coming into the Queensland community, masks are going to play a very important role in helping to reduce community transmission,” he said.
When asked if masks would be around indefinitely, Dr Aitken said it wasn’t as simple as that.
“I think there will be an evolution in mask wearing and we’ll go in peaks and troughs as individuals choose to wear masks more than we advise,” he said.
“For the moment, we’re going to come into a phase where the risk is low.
“We will then come into a phase … where the risk of community transmission is higher and we’ll probably see more mask wearing.”
The latest news about masks came as Queensland had no new cases of community transmission in the 24 hours to Monday morning, and was sitting just shy of 80 per cent of people with one dose of the vaccine.
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