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Parents of school children in the Australian state of Victoria have asked for clarity after receiving a letter containing mask-wearing recommendations for students.
A joint letter to parents from groups representing Victorian public, independent and Catholic schools has asked school students aged eight and over to wear masks in class.
However, the state government said it was not a mandate and was just reiterating Covid-19 winter settings.
Students will not be required to wear masks outdoors, and school activities such as sport, music and performances will continue.
“We’re asking all students aged eight and over and staff to wear masks when in class from now to the end of winter. Children won’t be required to wear masks when they are outdoors,” the letter read.
The group is also asking children to wear masks on public transport.
There is a feeling the Victorian government will not mandate mask-wearing ahead of the state elections in November.
Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said health advice about masks in schools has not changed. “Schools are doing their bit by reinforcing the health minister’s advice to wear masks indoors,” she said.
“Let’s be clear: it’s not a mandate,” Allan emphasised.
Many children arriving at the school gates across the state were already masked, although most had their faces uncovered.
“It should make it more clear for people to understand,” one parent said this morning.
The number of daily Covid-19 cases across Victoria continues to hover around 10,000. There are 65,416 known active cases in the state, with 897 in hospital.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 hospitalisations are at an all-time high in Queensland, with Health Minister Yvette D’Ath saying modelling failed to predict the severity of the current wave.
Queensland AMA head Dr Michael Bonning says there’s “good health evidence” to back mask-wearing, even as states refuse to reimpose mandates amid a new Covid-19 wave.
“At the moment, we are also very early in this wave,” he said. “We expect the peak into August, so we are nervous about where the health system will be able to cope and where it will struggle.”
Bonning called on federal, state and territory governments to deliver consistent messaging as per a commitment in National Cabinet’s Saturday meeting.
“Two days out from that, we are already changing the plan,” Bonning said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is resisting the state’s return of a mask mandate. However, she has advised teachers and students to wear them at school and for people to go masked at the upcoming Royal Queensland Show.
South Australian leaders held an emergency meeting on 19 July as the state battles new Omicron Covid variants.
The use of face masks and strain on the hospital system will be on the agenda as the state tallies a record number of people in hospital.
Sources
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News category: World.
