Mask mandate in NSW-We need access to better N95 masks, and for Gladys Berejiklian and co to keep their masks on when in public, including press conferences

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The failure of the Berejiklian government to rein in the Sydney Covid outbreak could have serious consequences in the state’s north-west where only 8% of Aboriginal communities are fully vaccinated. Photograph: Joel

The NSW Government led by the frequently unmasked Gladys Berejiklian has imposed a mask mandate on the people of NSW. Given their construction and constitution, most cloth and paper masks do little to protect anyone, as this picture illustrates: 

The images are from a recent article in Nature magazine, which concludes with this recommendation: 

Modifications to the N95 masks are proposed to develop the next generation mask with higher efficacy and better breathability.

The Nature study seems to confirm what many have suspected; that cloth and surgical masks do little to prevent the spread of  COVID, and that the mask mandate is yet another example of a government trying to give the impression that it is control.

Meanwhile, given current laws, it is hard to understand why Berejiklian and others should be unmasked at press conferences. We the people of NSW can I am sure understand the premier just as well if she was  properly masked.

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