The Health Minister has urged Australians to wear masks as COVID-19 infections and flu cases skyrocket but stressed he would not mandate the measure.
The Health Minister donned a mask on Tuesday as he announced new health advice issued by the nation’s chief health medical officer Paul Kelly.
Stream the latest news on COVID-19 with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022.“We are seeing hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Australians infected every single week in this wave. As of today, there are more than 5200 Australians in hospital with Covid. That number has increased very dramatically over recent weeks.”
“I am wearing a mask now. You will have noticed the health minister is wearing a mask as well,” Mr Kelly said.“This will not be forever but for the next few weeks this is the way we can actually influence the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable people in our community and also protect our healthcare systems which are already under strain.”
Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said he and Mr Butler were playing a “leadership role” by donning masks to help slow the spread of coronavirus. Picture: Supplied. "There are still more than 5 million Australians for whom it has been at least six months since they had their second dose of COVID vaccine but have not yet had a third dose."
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