South Australia’s Premier Steven Marshall has given school kids in South Australia an early Christmas gift by removing mandatory mask wearing in South Australian schools.
He said the decision was mostly because of the high uptake of vaccines in the community. Premier Marshall stated, “this was on the back of good vaccination rates in SA”.
Mask requirements for high schools will no longer be mandatory. However, it will be up to each individual school to decide on their own mask policy. It is not clear yet how the education system will tackle this extra responsibility, however the Premier also stated that along with schools implementing their own mask policy, it will also be up to the individual student.
This will be a great relief to many students and their families across the State and there is hope masks will be scrapped all together as the vaccine rate grows in South Australia. South Australia is on track to hit the 80% vaccination target by November, and many are eagerly awaiting to see what restrictions will be lifted.
SA community members are actively campaigning for mask mandates to be one of the first restrictions to ease. At the recent Freedom Rally in Adelaide, many voiced their concerns regarding ongoing mask mandates. There is a growing level of mask fatigue in South Australia and the State Government is picking up on the frustrations.
Earlier today Deputy Chief Health officer Emily Kirkpatrick stated “we have absolutely seen there is fatigue around mask wearing and compliance as well is dropping around mask usage” although there is no imminent evidence of SA Heath and the Marshall Government dropping mask restrictions for other indoor venues anytime this year.
Westfield has revealed they will require everyone over the age of 12 to keep a mask on during their photo with Santa this year.
The State Government has also restored the border bubble with NSW and will be now allowing people to transit through Sydney airport with no quarantine needed effective immediately. This will come to a relief for many families planning reunions for the upcoming festive season.
