News
Avoid a dose of COVID-19 with your democracy sausage: wear a mask when casting your vote
Saturday May 21, 2022
Millions of Australians head to the polls on Election Day, and the AMA (WA) is encouraging everyone attending a polling place in Western Australia to wear a mask on Saturday.
Thankfully, millions have already cast their vote in record numbers, at pre-polling centres and through postal voting. However, that still means millions more will attend in person on the same day.
The second peak in WA, directly caused by the McGowan Government’s removal of masks and restrictions in late April, is resulting in large amounts of community spread, and unnecessary pressure on the health system, ambulances and healthcare professionals.
The McGowan Government’s own projections indicate a peak in the next 1-2 weeks of 20,000-25,000 new cases per day, with a resultant increase in hospitalisations.
To avoid accelerating this process, the AMA (WA) urges Western Australians to mask up to vote.
Comments attributed to AMA (WA) President Dr Mark Duncan-Smith:
“We don’t want to look at this with hindsight and be calling it Superspreader Saturday.”
“With high new case numbers following the McGowan Government’s Let it Rip policy, the AMA (WA) is encouraging all voters on Saturday to wear a mask to polling places.”
