Peter Gutwein,Premier
In line with public health advice, mandatory mask wearing in certain settings will be phased out in coming weeks as we continue our transition to live with COVID-19.
From 12.01am tomorrow, masks will no longer be required for retail settings, except for staff to ensure business continuity.
This means from tomorrow, you are no longer required to wear a mask when shopping at places such as shopping centres, supermarkets, department stores or other shops.
Additionally, from 5pm next Friday 11 March, masks will no longer be mandatory in:
- seated restaurants and cafes, except for staff in these settings;
- large outdoor events of more than 1000 people such as Salamanca market.; and
- offices and workplaces, with businesses to refer to their own COVID-safe plans and business continuity plans.
We have taken public health advice at every step during the pandemic, and this staged approach is another important marker in our ongoing transition to living with COVID-19 in our community.
However, masks do help minimise the spread of COVID-19 - so if you want to keep wearing a mask in any of these settings for your own protection or peace of mind, you can.
In terms of other settings where there remains an increased level of risk, such as pubs and clubs, we will have more to say on timelines to ease mandatory mask restrictions later next week.
If you're not a retail setting, to be clear for hospitals, aged care facilities, transport, churches and gyms, the current mask rules will remain in place for now, recognising the higher risk associated with these settings. The rules around schools will also remain as is, with an update on the last half of Term 1 to be provided next week.
Tasmanians continue to do a fantastic job as we move through this transition phase, and the reason we can now ease the rules around mandatory mask-wearing, in a cautious and responsible way, is because of our high vaccination rates that are helping to maintain lower levels of hospitalisation.
However, please remember the basics – maintain good hygiene, socially distance where possible, cover your coughs and sneezes, and stay home and get tested if you develop symptoms.
