The latest Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria serve as a reminder about how quickly this virus can spread and the severe impact it can have on our daily lives.

This week the Victorian government expanded the requirement of individuals wearing face coverings in public spaces to all parts of the state, including regional areas.

Wearing a face covering helps to protect you and your community by providing an additional physical barrier to COVID-19.

In other parts of the country, the push for individuals to wear coverings is gaining momentum. While the community transmission numbers in NSW remain relatively low and case numbers are even lower in other parts of Australia, experts suggest that widespread wearing of masks will improve our ability to reduce community contact cases.

Former Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps appeared on ABCs Q&A program this week, describing the debate around wearing masks as “nonsensical” and suggests that we need to head towards making them compulsory in other parts of the country. “Wearing masks is one of the single, most responsible things we can do in the community to protect each other”, Phelps said.

In particular, masks are strongly recommended in situations where you are not able to consistently distance from others, such as in a lift, public transport, or in an indoor environment.

Wearing a mask provides some of the best protection you can have, both to protect yourself and to protect others.

Eastbrooke staff and doctors in all clinics across Australia wear personal protective equipment, including masks to keep our patients safe.

Source: https://www.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-victoria