Infectious diseases specialists say the jab is the key to releasing the community from harsh restrictions, but it’s not the only tool required.And once we open to the world, there will need to be ongoing measures such as mask-wearing on public transport and in other confined spaces.The Andrews government said it would continue to take expert advice on where masks were required, but they were likely to be used in some settings “for the foreseeable future”.Experts said home testing to stop sick people going to the office should be implemented long term, while improvements to school ventilation systems were needed. The silver linings from the “vaccine-plus” strategy was that the dreaded lockdowns would be dumped and the common flu would effectively be eliminated. Burnet Institute director Brendan Crabb said Covid-19 wasn’t about to “run its course” and the community must prepare for ongoing measures to reduce sickness and death. “It won’t just be vaccines for the next few years or so,” Professor Crabb said. “The more that we all buy into that – governments and individuals – then the earlier we can open.” University of Melbourne professorial fellow in epidemiology Tony Blakely agreed. “Vaccination alone is not the exit strategy,” he said. “We won’t be throwing away masks, we will still be wearing them on public transport, for example.“We will be wearing them indoors when there is a community outbreak.” Head of the University of Melbourne’s school of population and global health, Nancy Baxter, said: “We have to get a lot more used to wearing masks.”She said better ventilation in some buildings would also be crucial to reducing airborne transmission once the virus was in the community, especially at schools where many children might not be vaccinated.The cover-up call comes as the scientific community braces for the coronavirus battle to last several years, and as Australia prepares to open to the rest of the world, where often vastly different health strategies are in place.A state government spokeswoman said masks were “an easy but critical tool in our fight against coronavirus”. “We expect they will play a part for the foreseeable future,” she said.matthew.johnston@news.com.au
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