Sunday 24 July 2022 08:12 AM Australia-wide Covid mask mandates demanded as aged care homes battle outbreaks trends now
There are renewed calls for mask mandates in Australia as Covid cases rise across the nation and take hold in a third of aged care homes.
Australia's Covid death toll surpassed 11,000, rising by 36 on Sunday, with thousands of new cases reported.
Epidemiologist and former World Health Organisation advisor professor Adrian Esterman said state and territory governments needed 'to be persuaded' to bring back mask mandates or cases and deaths would keep going up.
There are calls to bring back mandatory mask wearing as Covid cases surge in Australia
'What we need is vaccination plus some other strategies,' he told the Nine network.
Most states and territories are advocating mask use indoors or when social distancing is not possible but have not imposed mandates.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese conceded some Australians might be confused about the latest advice for wearing face masks.
'The issue of mandates, of course, is a matter for (which) state and territory governments have been responsible,' the prime minister said on Sunday.
The hyper-infectious nature of the Omicron sub-variants is sparking Covid concerns worldwide.
The prestigious British Medical Journal published a piece by senior doctors stating the UK's National Health Service is 'not living with Covid-19, it's dying from it'.
Former World Health Organisation advisor professor Adrian Esterman says vaccines alone won't bring down Covid cases and called for a return to mask mandates
Professor Esterman said if the governments wouldn't act, people should take personal measures to cut transmission such as mask wearing.
'I think the least we can do is to get much better messaging to the general public,' he said.
Doctors also warned about the debilitating effects, particularly for women, of long Covid cases.
New research found five per cent of Australians who are infected with Covid develop the condition.
At Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, the long Covid clinic already has a four-month wait to see patients, with the majority being young, previously fit, and many women.
Research showed women were 22 per cent more likely than men to develop the condition.
Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute executive director Jason Kovacic said the projected impacts of long Covid were 'sobering, staggering numbers'.
'The 55,000 people in Australia who tested positive today... equates to 2000 to 3000 new cases of long Covid,' he told The Age.
Professor Kovacic estimated this meant half a million people would suffer long-term effects over in the coming months.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says mask mandates are a matter for the states and territories
The prevalence of long Covid in women could effect workforces that are predominantly female such as in healthcare and education.
'It's no longer about our ICUs being overwhelmed with acutely unwell cases, but the very serious impacts long Covid is going to have on our community, on our hospitals, airlines, public transport, right across the board,' he said.
Common symptoms of long Covid include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction, and
