Victoria’s public transport network hit 63 per cent of pre-COVID baseline usage this week, its highest level in two years.
But Professor Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said lingering in a shop or cafe for longer than 15 minutes could now pose a higher risk of transmission than being on a train or tram carriage, where face masks remain mandated.She said if a vaccinated commuter was wearing a highly protective or fitted face mask such as an N95 respirator, the risk was on par with “other areas we go to every day without thinking”.
Occupational hygienist Andrew Orfanos, who assesses and controls workplace hazards such as airborne infectious diseases, said ventilation in trains was “pretty good” and air circulation was often better than in some indoor settings. The last time the state’s public transport patronage surpassed 63 per cent of pre-pandemic usage was on March 16, 2020, when more than 1.5 million trips were recorded – the same day, a state of emergency took effect to try to curb an explosion of coronavirus cases.