Infectious diseases doctor says it’s ‘absolutely time’ to do away with this mask rule

A leading Australian infectious diseases doctor is calling for masks to be ditched in Victorian schools immediately.

Students in grades three to six are still required to wear the face coverings, while older and younger students don’t need to wear them.

Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer, Professor Nick Coatsworth, says “it’s absolutely time to do away with the rules”.

He says there’s overemphasis on the risk COVID-19 has on the vaccinated population, and overemphasis on the benefits that come from masking kids.

“The people who are getting very sick with this are the very frail elderly … or people with severe underlying conditions. You’re not longer seeing people with a little bit of diabetes or a little bit of heart disease coming in,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“You’re not actually protecting the kids themselves, of course, because it’s a very, very mild disease in children with or without the vaccine.”

Professor Coatsworth said wearing masks is also likely to be causing other harm to children.

“I have trouble communicating with my patients. It’s hard for them to hear me, it’s hard for them to know who I am, and if that’s hard for me then I can only conclude that it would be detrimental to kids,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear why Professor Coatsworth wants to see masks ditched in schools