Facemasks for Public Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic:An Examination of Responses in Australia and England

In the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, members of the public were dissuaded from wearing facemasks to protect themselves and others against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, in Australia. However, during the second wave, in Victoria, it become mandatory as part of a suite of public health measures. This was against a background of increasing global and domestic resistance by some individuals and groups to a mask mandate, based on civil liberties and human rights. This chapter undertakes a comparative examination of government responses mandating or encouraging use of facemasks by the public in Victoria, Australia and England. It also examines any challenges that could be posed to any legal mandate that members of the public must wear facemasks, as one tool to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2, arising from claims to human rights or civil liberties or other legal grounds.