The New South Wales government is still refusing to mandate face masks on public transport, despite fears of transmission occurring on an infected Sydney bus.
The X39 bus from the CBD to Randwick in the city's east, on the evening of August 20, has been flagged as a potential COVID risk with two confirmed infections among 14 people on board.
NSW Health has used opal card data, the digital card system used to pay for trips, to identify people who were traveling on that bus.
"Pleasingly 10 of the 11 other passengers on that bus had their registered opal card details," Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
"We've made contact with seven of them with their mobile phones, and we've left messages for the remainder."
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NSW Health teams were now trying to locate and watch CCTV footage from the bus, to check spatial distancing of passengers.
"We're considering that transmission may have occurred on the bus," Dr Chant said.
When asked what the medical reasons were for not mandating masks on public transport, Dr Chant said "policy issues" were a factor.
"If we make it mandatory it will mean that there will be no exceptions to the rule. And we need to give the time for the community to certainly embrace masks, get used to them and to acquire them," she said.
She said face masks were one important layer of COVID-safe protocols, which include hand washing and social distancing.
Dr Chant said if masks were mandatory then it would mean passengers would be refused entry on to trains and buses.
"We need to take the community on a journey and explain the importance of masks," she explained.
"There'll be some members of the community that won't tolerate masks for a variety of reasons."
Adding to the confusion, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said if she were catching a Sydney bus or a train today she would "100 per cent" be wearing a mask.
"You shouldn't be catching a bus or train and not wear a mask. It is not more simple than that," Ms Berejiklian said.
"Our advice on masks can't be stronger."
Ms Berejiklian said masks were very important but it was "the fourth line of defence".
"Even when you do make things mandatory as we've seen, there are always people that don't comply.
"It's a small percentage but it only takes a few people not to comply."
She said the issue of mandatory face masks on transport should be "put into perspective" as virus spread among family and friends was a much greater risk.
"The random contraction of the virus is the least risk - it is a huge risk - but it's a greater risk to get the virus from a household contact or somebody you're socialising with."
The government response needed to be commensurate with the risk, she said.
Ten new cases of coronavirus were reported in NSW in the past 24 hours.
Passengers on the X39 bus that left Pitt Street opposite Australia Square at 6.08pm on August 20, and arrived at Clovelly Road, Carrington Road at Randwick at 6.40pm are considered close contacts of a case.
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