澳洲新冠疫情恶化，华人公共卫生人士呼吁政府要求居民公共场所佩戴口罩Mandate face mask use in public

近来澳大利亚维多利亚州部分地区新冠疫情急剧恶化，每日新增60至70多个病例。

维州政府不得不重新封闭墨尔本部分疫情高发区，限制人员流动，大幅度增加对区内居民新冠病毒检测力度。

面对持续恶化的疫情和当地居民外出很少佩戴口罩的现实和疫情随时可能向其他地区蔓延的严峻形势，澳大利亚华人公共卫生健康专业人士联络会 (Chinese Public Health Professionals Network Australia Inc) 的专家们昨日联名写信给维州政府首席卫生官Brett Sutton教授及其他相关政府官员，紧急呼吁政府尽快提出明确要求、敦促居民在公共场所佩戴口罩，并继续严格实施社交距离、加强病毒检测等其他公共卫生举措，切实有效阻断新冠病毒的传播。 

以下是澳大利亚华人公共卫生健康专业人士联络会执委会成员给维州政府首席卫生官的英文邮件的主要内容：

3 July 2020

Dr. Brett Sutton

Chief Medical Officer Victoria

Re: A letter calling for the government to mandate the wearing of face masks by the public in confined spaces and crowded places to stop the spread of coronavirus

Dear Dr. Sutton

While we commend the prompt and effective actions from the Victorian government during the recent surge of community-acquired new infections of COVID-19 in Melbourne, we call for governmental advocate wearing face masks by the public in confined or crowded public places as an essential measure to stop the spread of coronavirus.

A myriad of international research evidence finds that wearing face masks is one of the most effective measures of preventing spread of the coronavirus. It is particularly important to prevent people from getting infected from unknown sources such as asymptomatic cases or cases during incubation period. We understand that some people are concerned about complacency of those who wear face masks in maintaining the existing important measures such as hand hygiene and social distancing. However, there is a lack of evidence to support such an argument. As a matter of fact, people who wear face masks are more likely to be aware of the high risk of COVID-19; they will also follow other governmental guidelines. Wearing face masks can also remind others to keep physical distancing.

The World Health Organization (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more than 75 countries have endorsed or mandated wearing face masks by the public in the battle against COVID-19 in confined and crowed environments such as public transport, shops and classrooms. As of early May 2020, 88% of the world's population lives in countries that recommend or mandate the use of masks in public.

A recent comparative study published in Health Affairs compared the COVID-19 growth rate before and after mask mandate in 15 states of the United States plus Washington DC from April to May 2020 shows that ‘mandating face mask use in public is associated with a decline in the daily COVID-19 growth rate by 0.9, 1.1, 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0 percentage-points in 1–5, 6–10, 11–15, 16–20, and 21+days after signing, respectively... as many as 230,000-450,000 COVID-19 cases possibly averted by May 2020 by these mandates.’

On a social cohesion level, governmental mandating of wearing face masks will also improve the understanding and acceptance from other communities of the protective measures taken by our Asian brothers and sisters to safeguard themselves and their fellow Australians.

Home-made cloth face masks are recommended and should be encouraged for the public as an alternative to surgical masks (cloth masks are good for the environment, easier to breath and less costly).

We believe that as our state is recording its biggest increases in community transmission of coronavirus, it is now the high time that this evidence-based additional public health measure be mandated swiftly and widely, particularly important when more economic activities are returning. We urge the government to mandate the use of masks by the public in confined and crowed environments in order to effectively stop the spread of coronavirus.

Yours sincerely,

Executive members of the Chinese Public Health Professionals Network Australia Inc.

Dr Lin Li
Dr Eileen Yang
Dr Anne Pang
Professor George Liu
Dr Hui Li  
Ms Alice Zeng

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