Today, Victoria recorded its 16th day in a row of no new COVID-19 cases or deaths, and now it looks like Victorians may FINALLY experience some easing of face mask restrictions.
Next Sunday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will release more details about the road map to opening, and what a COVID-normal may look like (which includes easing of face mask rules).
Yesterday there were 0 new cases, 0 lives lost and 0 cases with an unknown source. Three active cases remain. There were 8,323 test results received – thanks to all who were tested #EveryTestHelps https://t.co/eTputEZdhs#StaySafeStayOpen#COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/ZdsQ7toFtA
— Victorian Department of Health (@VicGovDH) November 14, 2020
However, Andrews said that these changes won’t happen as quickly as some of us would prefer, according to The Age.
“I think the area we will move first will be when people are out on their own, well away from others,” he said.
“It’ll always be a situation where you carry the mask and if for some unexpected reason you would come into contact with people, then you would wear that mask. I think that’s probably the first change.”
As it currently stands, wearing a face mask is mandatory in Victoria. That means you must wear one anytime you leave your home.
As Andrews stated, the most likely change to the rules around wearing a face mask is that they won’t be mandatory on your own. For example, you may be allowed to go for a walk alone, without a mask.
This comes after two public health experts argued that the rules around face masks should be eased now.
Deputy Health Officer Allen Cheng responded and said that if they kept face mask rules strict, other restrictions could be eased more quickly instead.
“What we’re trying to do is step through that cautiously and the order of that really depends on what’s easy to do, what restrictions can be relaxed that will be relatively high impact and improve people’s lives,” Cheng said.
“Masks I think still are things where everyone’s got their masks now and people know what to do. By holding that back a little bit means that we can probably open up some of the other things earlier.”
Whatever the face mask changes are next Sunday, I’m sure a lot of Victorians will be relieved. It’s like taking a bra off at the end of the day…utterly satisfying.
