The government announced this afternoon that masks and rapid antigen testing would be made freely available as the country struggled with a resurgence of Covid-19 and other winter illnesses.
Professor Michael Baker of the University of Otago told RNZ that much more was needed to avert the worst effects of a “really grim winter”.
“We are missing the fundamental measure to stop the widespread sharing of this virus and that is universal indoor mask use.”
Baker said New Zealand should become a “mask-using society,” which he said could only be achieved by mandating its use in most indoor settings.
“The very ad hoc approach of mandating the use of a mask erodes the social license for them.
“You go to a social event, and everyone wears a mask, and so you feel comfortable. The next day you go to another one, and no one wears a mask except you, and that feels a bit strange. We have to get rid of those inconsistencies.”
Baker said he believed the government had opted for a greater focus on personal accountability for fear of possible political backlash.
“Unfortunately, we have politicized this issue too much and politics is starting to take over science.”
But, talking to RNZs Checkpoint program tonight, Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said it was “not easy” to implement mask mandates.
“It impacts how many businesses run and we need people to approach this pragmatically.”
However, Verrall said she would encourage everyone to wear as much as possible inside a mask.
She rejected the suggestion that the government’s approach to dealing with rising Covid-19 cases was based on politics over health.
She wouldn’t say whether the predicted peak of 1,200 hospital admissions per day would be a crisis, but said the government was doing everything it could to prevent the scenario from happening.
“I think it’s very important that we respond to the very real pressures in our health system, and I’ve been in close contact with health professionals, and follow the statistics we get to make sure we know the facts, and that we respond to it and solve the existing problems.
“Much of what we’ve laid out today is designed to do just that.”
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono said today’s development was “high time”, but he would have liked to see masks made compulsory in schools.
“We’re all over it, we’re all tired… but it’s just not an excuse to drop the ball because here’s the thing: there are still people in the hospital, people are dying of Covid.
“The numbers are going up and we’re in the middle of winter, so what we need here is that leadership.”