A New South Wales molecular biologist has criticised the state government's handling of the latest outbreak of COVID-19, saying it could kill a vulnerable person like himself.
University of Wollongong Professor Justin Yerbury lives with motor neuron disease and requires round-the-clock care from a group of 10 staff.
Professor Yerbury said although he was triple-vaccinated the decision of Premier Dominic Perrottet to wind back restrictions, including mask-wearing and QR code check-ins, could have dire consequences for many families.
"Despite being vaccinated, the elderly, the immunocompromised, and people with underlying conditions are still at risk of severe illness and possibly death if they contract COVID," Professor Yerbury said.
"The ability to assess the risk of numbers of cases in the community and the ability to trace cases is crucial to the lives of many in our community.
'Wear a mask'
The 47-year-old wrote to Mr Perrottet on Twitter on Sunday urging him to reinstate the measures "to keep people in your state safe".
"Without a mask mandate and check-ins, the 10 staff who look after me don't know if they have come into contact with someone with COVID and could easily pass it on to me, which could be fatal," he wrote.
He labelled the easing of restrictions "premature" given case numbers were the highest they had been since the beginning of the pandemic.
"I would hate to see us go back into another lockdown and we have done exceptionally well to get so many people vaccinated.
"What I think that we can do to protect everyone in the community is to wear a mask in public and record check-ins so that people can be notified if they have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19."
Infections rise
On Monday, New South Wales recorded 2,501 new infections; 261 people were being treated in hospital for the virus, up from 227 on Sunday, and 33 were in intensive care.
"When it comes to face masks, we recommend face masks in areas where you can't social distance," Mr Perrottet told a media conference on Monday.
"If we need to tailor our responses from time to time we well."
