Hey, remember Covid? Daily life has all but returned to its pre-pandemic YOLO ways (despite tens of thousands of daily cases nationwide), but a few health measures have remained in place for modes of mass transit, such as rail and bus travel and in airport terminals. However, air travellers may soon no longer be required to mask up as the Australia Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) has released a report stating that mask mandates in airports are “no longer proportionate”.
“The AHPPC notes that all states and territories have relaxed mask mandates in most settings within the community and considers that is no longer proportionate to mandate mask use in airport terminals,” the report concluded.
Mask mandates in airports could be lifted as early as Friday, June 17, although it will be up to individual state and territory jurisdictions to officially announce any changes to current health settings. However, despite the AHPPC’s call to lift mask mandates, it “continues to strongly recommend continued mask wearing in airports and other indoor settings,” in the latest addition to the choose-your-own-adventure phase of the pandemic in Australia.
Masks will continue to be mandatory on other forms of public transport in NSW, including trains, the light rail and buses, for the time being.