THE SQUIZ

PM Scott Morrison will convene an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet tomorrow as Omicron gets its skates on. The next meeting was not due until February next year, and Morrison has called the meeting “informal”, but the topics are serious. Up for discussion: bringing booster shots forward to 4 months after a 2nd dose, and calls for an indoor mask mandate as new cases continue to be added to the tally, particularly in NSW.

SO MASKS ARE BACK?

Could be… Last night, it was confirmed that Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly has written to all leaders with the advice that a mask mandate should be imposed in all indoor settings, including shopping, hospitality and entertainment venues. That won’t be music to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s ears – he’s continued to point to the state’s high vaccination rate and has ruled out reintroducing restrictions. “We are treating the people of our state like adults,” he said yesterday. But masks are hanging around in many jurisdictions, and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday urged Queenslanders to keep them on. Asked whether he wanted to see a nationwide mask mandate, PM Morrison yesterday said that “Australians have grown pretty tired” of being told what to do, but he’s said to be on board with Kelly’s advice.  

SO WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY?

Some of the country’s most respected experts reckon masks make sense given Omicron. Epidemiologists at the Doherty Institute (which has advised the Federal Government on its COVID strategy) and Kirby Institute say masks should be made mandatory indoors because they provide good protection and cost virtually nothing. That’s a view shared by former deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth. Peter Collignon from ANU’s School of Clinical Medicine has taken a different tack. He wants people to be safe, but says it will be a long ride. “And we need people along with us for the next year or 2 or more because I think restrictions will be with us in some part in winter because that’s when we’ll get a big uptick in numbers and probably hospitalisations.” Agh…