There’s some difficult news for Victorians today as the state government has announced the mask mandate will be reintroduced tonight.

From Thursday, December 23rd at 11:59pm, masks will be a requirement in all indoor settings – aside from private households – and in outdoor settings. This includes major events with over 30,000 attendees.

Acting Premier James Merlino announced the extra measures as a way to slow the transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 after consulting with medical experts.

The mask mandate will be mandatory for all residents aged 8-years-old and over. People are also being encouraged to work from home over the holiday period if possible.

“As a parent and Education Minister, our kids are used to this. Grade 3, 4, 5, 6 students have been wearing a mask at school throughout term 4. Again, this is common sense,” Merlino said during a COVID-19 update.

“This is a sensible response which will allow businesses to stay open, bars and restaurants to continue to stay open and major events to go ahead. Masks are a cheap and effective way to maintain the health of the community and it’s something public health experts have been calling for.”

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Currently the mask mandate will remain in place until January 12th but this could be extended depending on how the situation evolves. When pressed on why masks couldn’t just be “highly recommended” rather than mandated, Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton had a measured explanation.

“So, the difference between highly recommending something and mandating something is the level of compliance that we see,” he said. “We usually get about 50 per cent levels of cooperation or compliance with a strong recommendation. It goes to 95 – 99 per cent with a mandate. Why would you introduce a half measure when you need the full measure to be in place?”

For more on this topic, follow the Health & Wellness Observer.

Watch Acting Premier James Merlino’s COVID-19 update:

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