There has been minimal need for face masks in Tasmania throughout the pandemic compared with other states, but a public health analyst says stricter mandates are likely when borders reopen.
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At the moment, masks are only required in hospitals and healthcare settings, airports and at events with over 1000 people in attendance.
But Martyn Goddard said international evidence of COVID vaccines only having partial effectiveness in stopping transmission meant masks would be essential in stopping a "catastrophic spread" into unvaccinated communities.
"We don't want to see the take-off in cases that is being seen elsewhere in Australia, in the world," he said.
"How do we control that? First of all, vaccines. Second, being very careful about opening borders too quickly.
"What else do we do, how do we control it? What tools are there available for us to control? One of them is masks."
After its "freedom day" on Monday, NSW residents must still wear a mask when inside public venues, on public transport and at airports, but children under 12 are exempt. They are no longer required outdoors.
In Victoria, where COVID continues to spread, masks are required outside of the home both indoors and outdoors, but are not required when exercised if out of breath or puffing.
In Queensland, masks are only required at airports and in South Australia they are required on public transport, in airports, in indoor public places and in heathcare settings.
Tasmania has a target of 90 per cent full vaccination for people aged 16 and over by December, which would leave over 110,000 unvaccinated - mostly children. On Monday, Premier Peter Gutwein stated his preference for borders to reopen by Christmas.
Mr Goddard said the requirement for masks outdoors in Tasmania would depend on the risk, but he expected various indoor settings to be included when borders open.
"Outdoors, it depends on the situation. It depends how much risk mitigation you feel you need to engage in," he said.
"The Delta virus is spread easily with aerosols. It can remain in the air for quite some time, there are plenty of cases where the most casual contact results in transmission, people walking past one another in the street.
"It's really a matter of what situation were in as to how much we need to dial up those prevention methods."
Measures to be detailed in government's reopening plan
Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of epidemiology, vaccinology and mathematical modelling at the University of NSW's Kirby Institute, is preparing modelling for the Tasmanian Government, according to Public Health.
The modelling - which Public Health director Mark Veitch said would factor in all the latest research regarding transmissibility, vaccine effectiveness and health system capacity using various data input levels - would be used to guide a reopening plan.
Professor MacIntyre was among the first Australian epidemiologists to outline the airborne transmission of COVID. In July last year, she wrote about the evidence of how wearing a standard surgical mask reduced the risk of COVID infection by 67 per cent.
"There's no doubt masks help stop the spread," she wrote.
Early last month, in announcing the requirement for masks to be worn at events with more than 1000 people, Dr Veitch said such measures gave public health authorities confidence of allowing people to mix in large crowds.
"The worst thing that possibly could happen would be a person who is in infectious with coronavirus, doesn't know they've got it, and mixes in a large crowd. That would really amplify coronavirus in the Tasmanian community, and potentially put it beyond easy control," he said.
"By requiring masks in events of 1000 people and up, it gives me and others who are approving these events some comfort that as a step being taken to mitigate the risk of those larger numbers of people assembling, and we can more confidently enable those events to proceed.
"It's a cheap intervention. We know that it does help prevent transmission."
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