A federal government mandate on the wearing of face masks remains off the table, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said, while warning that the nation's hospital system will be tested.
Following a snap meeting of national cabinet, the Prime Minister said all Australians should adopt a"common sense" approach when deciding to wear a face mask, and conceded Omicron will pose as a challenge for hospitals into 2022.
Mr Morrison spoke to the press following a national cabinet meeting to discuss the spread of the Omicron variant on Wednesday and said the nation's health system is well-equipped to handle the rising number of COVID-19 cases but hospitals will face a challenge in the coming weeks as the virus continues to spread.
"Australians are common sense people and they know what they need to do to protect their own health, and so that is highly recommended along with all the normal things we've been doing with COVID," he said."In the same way that we go into the summer season, people will be slapping on a hat and slapping on the sunscreen, there's no rule or requirement to do that but it is strongly recommended health advice.
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