Interstate COVID-19 outbreaks around Australia's eastern states have triggered the introduction of mandatory face masks in public spaces but the ACT government has said it won't be following suit for now.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Recent outbreaks in the Greater Sydney area have resulted in NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian introducing mandatory face masks in indoor settings, such as shopping centres, public transport and entertainment venues.
A number of Victorian cases connected to the Sydney clusters have prompted the state's health authorities to reintroduce mask wearing rules put in place during its major outbreak last year.
In the nation's capital, however, the government has confirmed it has no plans to change the advice following no known cases of community transmission in the territory.
"The ACT only has one active case of COVID-19 at this time [an overseas acquired case in quarantine] and there is no evidence of community transmission," a government spokesperson said.
"Therefore the usage of face masks in the ACT is not recommended at this time."
READ MORE:
The use of face masks has been used as a precautionary measure to lower the risk of spreading COVID-19 when community transmission is uncontained.
Dr Chris Moy, Australian Medical Association vice president, told Sunrise on Friday face masks lowered the odds of contracting the virus when in public.
"In a game of chance against an enemy which is out there lurking and you don't know where it is, you want to lower your odds," Dr Moy said of mandatory mask wearing in Sydney.
"You're trying to lower your odds of COVID spreading, and we know that mask wearing lowers your odds by about 30 per cent."
Tough new restrictions on returning ACT residents and NSW residents from hotspot areas were introduced on Saturday to curb the potential spread into the territory. Police checkpoints were set up on the Federal Highway's southbound lanes for a number of hours on the weekend, causing long delays for returning holidayers.
The ACT government conceded some cases from NSW could slip through the cracks but it was hoped the recently-introduced restrictions would curb the likelihood.
"It is very possible that the ACT may see cases here that are connected to the NSW outbreak in the coming weeks with people movement from these COVID affected areas posing the biggest risk to the ACT," a spokesperson said.
"It's why we have acted quickly to respond by putting in place strong travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for anyone who has been in these areas.
"Again, we thank the community for their understanding and compliance to keep our community safe."
Sarah Basford Canales
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter with an interest in national security, integrity and regulation. Contact me with general tips and thoughts at sarah.basfordcanales@canberratimes.com.au or confidential tips to sbasfordcanales@protonmail.com.
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter with an interest in national security, integrity and regulation. Contact me with general tips and thoughts at sarah.basfordcanales@canberratimes.com.au or confidential tips to sbasfordcanales@protonmail.com.
