A major Omicron wave is imminent, but a major shift in political language is already under way.
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Wary of a revolt from a COVID-fatigued electorate, Health Minister Mark Butler is both lauding masks and attempting to avoid recommending them too strongly.
It's a tricky rhetorical needle to thread, and risks confusion on an important question.
As hospitals warn they are about to be overwhelmed, epidemiologists are calling for mandates to return. Covering your face is a low-cost means to stem the tide, they argue.
On Tuesday, Butler seemed hesitant to even advise Australians to wear them. "If you're in an indoor space, particularly crowded where you're not able to socially distance yourself, you should think about putting a mask on," he told 3AW.
In almost his next breath, he declared they provide "very substantial protection".
Butler stressed there "is a lot of fatigue out in the community" after two years of lockdowns. People were tired of being "told what to do", and new measures need to reflect that.
But if masks are so effective, why not clearly tell Australians to wear them in indoor settings as Omicron runs riot, and then leave it up to the electorate?
Host Neil Mitchell eventually extracted some clarity.
"I think mask wearing in crowded indoor spaces is something we should see return," Butler said, but added: "I don't see a position where governments are going to start sort of ordering people to do that."
Pressed on working from home - doctors are sounding the alarm over an impending hospitalisation spike - his language was similar. Businesses should consider it.
Compare that vagueness to his clarity on vaccine boosters, which the government is eager to raise.
"Get out and get your boosters, practice good social distancing," he said.
If the idea is to edge quietly away from more conservative medical advice, Butler is being more subtle than his Victorian counterpart.
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Ann Thomas on Tuesday simply admitted the state's chief health officer Brett Sutton had recommended mask mandates in retail settings. She'd simply ignored it.
"[He] has provided his advice and I have accepted his advice, except that I have chosen not to extend mandates for mask wearing," she said.
At least that's direct.