[NSW could relax social distancing rules for venues but only if masks are mandated[ (https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-could-relax-social-distancing-rules-for-venues-but-only-if-masks-are-mandated-20201011-p563zg.html)

The NSW government is considering relaxing the four-square-metre distancing rule and limitations on large gatherings. These, and the closure of international borders, are hurting the economy.

As long as the government is prepared to be flexible and retighten these rules if COVID-19 in the community should require it, it could sensibly plan for these measures. Closing international borders is a major reason why we are in a position where we can consider these kinds of rollbacks. Substantially opening them could result in significant community transmission.

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Business owners must equally take responsibility for collaborating in a safety culture. A breach, as recently happened in the south-western Sydney cluster, makes contact tracing impossible, and increases the risk of silent epidemic growth. Contact tracing is feasible when the outbreaks are small, but when you have to trace thousands to hundreds of thousands of contacts at a day, even the best-resourced health system will not be able to keep up. SARS-COV-2 infections grow exponentially. The virus does not wait for anyone, nor care about our wishes for a return to normal life. If we deny the existence of the worst pandemic in living memory, raging outside our borders, we tempt fate.