Queensland CHO Resists Calls for New Mask Mandate

A shopper walks in Sydney's CBD, Australia, on Dec. 24, 2021. Jason McCawley/Getty Images

The top health bureaucrat in Queensland has refused calls to introduce a mask mandate amid another COVID-19 wave.

Queensland Chief Health Officer (CHO) John Gerrard will not recommend the public start wearing masks again, noting, however, that individuals were free to do so.

His stance comes after Dr. Maria Bolton, president of the Queensland Australian Medical Association (AMA), urged people to “put a mask on” before Christmas.

“We just don’t want a repeat of previous Christmases. We don’t want to overwhelm the hospital system, and we don’t want to lose any lives,” she said on Sky News.

“Which is why it is really important for people to go back to what we know they do really well, which is getting the boosters if they need one, putting a mask on if they need to wear one, washing their hands, and also avoiding going out if they are sick.”

However, Dr. Gerrard resisted these calls, but indicated health facilities could still make their own recommendations on mask-wearing.

He said a recommendation about mask-wearing would be disproportionate to the risk, noting “the public health emergency is over,” he told reporters.

“If people want to wear masks, they should feel free to do so in public. There will be no general recommendation about mask-wearing from the office of the chief health officer.”

Dr. Gerrard said Queensland is in a “current COVID-19 wave” that started four weeks ago and 221 patients were in public hospital beds.

“The number is about three times higher than the average of around 77 recorded in the 28 days prior to this wave. So there definitely is a wave,” he said.

Variants of Omicron, including dominant strains EG5 (Eris) and BA2.86 (Pirola) are circulating in the community, along with a new variant XCH.

The Queensland CHO said it was clear the latest waves were less severe, saying the majority of people in hospital were over 65 and did “not receive a booster” in 2023.

“COVID-19 is not going away, it is one of a number of respiratory viruses we are going to have to deal with in an ongoing fashion including Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) etc.,” he said.

Dr. Gerrard also noted the public health emergency declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) ended on May 5.

Two girls in masks walk past a "welcome to Burwood" mural in Sydney, Australia, on July 24, 2021. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

“It is very important that I do not overstate the risk as chief health officer, or this office will lose credibility, so I do not wish to overstate the risk. So when I alert the public of a problem it needs to be taken seriously.”

“We do have a wave, there is no question, but these waves are getting milder. So the public health approach to COVID-19 is very clear. Our focus must be on those who are at greatest risk, which is principally those over the age of 65.”

Hospital Mandate in South Australia

In South Australia, mask mandates have returned to the Northern Adelaide Local Hospital Network, including Lyell McEwin and Modbury hospitals.

Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said mandates were up to hospitals, but noted that the city was “definitely in a wave” of COVID-19.

Ms. Spurrier said the latest outbreak was still a “relatively new virus.”

“Generally, we will not be making mandates—it is up to individual hospitals and aged care facilities, they know what to do. They have the information and knowledge about how to manage outbreaks,” she said in quotes cited by News Corp.

Recent statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said 20,000 people had died “from or with COVID-19” between March 2020 and September 2023.

The bureau said COVID-19 was the “underlying cause of death” for 15,920 death registrations, with 4,250 dying of other causes with COVID-19 an associated cause.

Health workers conduct COVID-19 tests at the Bondi Beach testing clinic in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 28, 2021. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The majority of those had a pre-existing chronic cardiac condition.

Dementia, chronic respiratory conditions, and cancer were also among the underlying causes for those who had COVID-19 certified as the major reason for dying.

However, only 650 out of these 15,920 deaths had COVID-19 reported alone as the reason for death.