As part of its fortnightly review of the traffic light system, it looks as though the Government is poised to make a significant change to the country’s Covid-19 settings and mask-use rules.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern could announce a drop to green – where there are no restrictions, and people are asked to wear masks in poorly-ventilated areas.
As case numbers fall and other countries continue to ease Covid-19 restrictions, University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said New Zealand will likely soon be following suit by easing mask requirements in many public spaces.
Baker said the current Covid-19 traffic light framework has outlived its usefulness. But should public health measures like masking continue beyond the pandemic? Data on viral infections shows their benefits.
In many countries around the world, the usual annual surge in influenza infections did not occur during the two winters since the beginning of the pandemic.
Specifically, flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a severe lung disease related to long-term smoking, and community-acquired non-COVID-19 pneumonia decreased by nearly 40 percent across Canada, for example, following the implementation of health measures like masking and physical distancing.
These findings were supported by another study of 15,677 patients from nine countries which reported a 50 percent reduction in the hospital admissions for COPD following the onset of the pandemic. This is not entirely surprising as both COPD and non-COVID-19 pneumonia are often triggered by common cold viruses.
Think about it, you probably haven’t caught a cold in nearly two years, and this is because of precautions like mask wearing and social distancing.
Yet we’ve seen a major drop-off of mask wearing, both in the general public and in sectors where health and safety are incredibly important – like hospitality.
Despite mask wearing being mandated – and it still is while we are under the orange traffic light setting, with a fine for those who do not comply – there appeared to be no actual consequences for businesses who did not follow the rules.
While complaining about a lack of staff due to labour shortages and illness, many businesses were not enforcing the one thing that could protect their staff from getting sick.
To Mask or Not Mask?
According to a survey from the Restaurant Association, 77 percent of members think mask regulations for hospitality should be reviewed.
The main feedback for mask requirements to be removed for staff was the health and safety challenges of working all day in a hot, physical environment while wearing masks – it would be interesting to know how they think many other professionals, including nurses manage to do it.
The Association feedback did come up with a good point of inconsistency with customers not having to wear masks, but staff having to.
“A dining room full of unmasked customers, and staff wearing them doesn’t seem to make sense,” noted Restaurant Association CEO, Marisa Bidois.
This is true, it seems senseless – but should health and safety requirements that are meant to protect people be based on whether things are fair or not? I’m sure many vulnerable members of the population feel it is unfair when they see people not following basic precautions. Not to mention the logical fact that a front of house hospitality worker will interact with a far larger amount of people than a customer will.
Going Green?
"We have to think about what it even means, the green light traffic network. Essentially it means we just remove all mask requirements," said Baker.
"What I'm hoping is we'll look at all the controls we've got, and we'll adjust the ones that are less important now that the virus numbers are dropping."
Baker said he does think mask wearing should still be required in many health settings.
"At the very least I think we should look at keeping mask requirements in health care facilities and aged care because there you've got lots of vulnerable people."
Baker's comments come amid reports that the Government has considered axing the traffic light system altogether when it next reviews its covid settings and the ditching of mask mandates in most settings is raising concern among the more vulnerable members of society.
Many disabled and vulnerable people, including senior members of society, feel trapped by the prospect of no mask mandates and feel left out of the conversation about what should happen next.
Baker noted that while winter has ended, it's worth remembering that New Zealand's highest case numbers came during the Omicron surge last summer.
"At the moment this virus does not need winter to spread. At this stage it's a pandemic virus so it can spread in any season very effectively but eventually we might see it settle down to more of a winter infection, but not yet."
It feels like everyone, the public, the business sector, and the government should consider the compelling evidence and weigh in on whether the continued use of masking and other public health measures is warranted as we learn to live with the reality of life with COVID-19.
