'I'd rather put up with missing out on things' - Fears over loosened mask exemptions

Immunocompromised people say looser mask exemption criteria means they may need to further restrict their activities in order to stay safe.

Under the new rules, exemptions could be handed out for those with hay fever, dizziness, tiredness, a tendency to get dry eyes, those wearing glasses or a face covering - or those who say masks give them a runny nose.

It was an online, self-identifying process to request a legally binding card that said you didn't need to wear a mask.

Down in Dunedin, Allie said the pandemic had meant a lot of changes to keep herself and others safe.

She is immunocompromised.

"It's very scary. I haven't been to a restaurant for I don't know how long or a cafe. But I'd rather put up with missing out on things than get sick."

She qualified for a mask exemption under the criteria, but said she was worried about infection.

"At the moment, I only go to a few places where I'm fairly sure they won't be crowded, and I don't stand in queues and things like that.

"But I'll probably have to go back to not going places again."

The Ministry of Health said there was no legal requirement to carry the card and you didn't have to show it.

A Dunedin resident, who asked not to be named, said staying Covid-free has been very hard especially when his family have all had it.

"Well I've got cancer at the moment, so I need to have a mask on."

The mask could be life-saving as it helped to prevent him from catching Covid, he said.

He wanted to see the exemptions tighten and include school students. Covid arrived via the classroom for his family.

"Some people obviously can't wear a mask, which is understandable.

"But I think the majority of people realise that we've got to keep doing it. We've got to live our lives as well ... but what's the harm of wearing a mask? Really, it just saves people's lives."

Another Dunedin resident - who asked to remain anonymous - said it was far too easy to get an exemption now.

"I believe that you should only get exemptions if it is actually affecting your health.

"A runny nose is not enough, but like for my brother, rashes and massive sores on your face, you should be able to get out of wearing a mask."

In Lower Hutt, Anne was masked up while waiting for her bus.

"I mean I am at the age of life that if I got it, I'd probably die. OK, that's near enough for me anyway. But you're not going to put your head in a noose if you can help it."

She hoped more people would think of others and mask up.

"I will protect myself as best I can so that I can live as normal a life as I can because I don't think this has finished. There will be another wave, another variant."

But another Lower Hutt resident, Wayne wanted to see mask rules relaxed even further.

"I don't think we need to have masks at all for any particular reason, and you can wear them if you want to. If not, why?"

The wait and see attitude was draining on everyone and costing the country, and people should be able to get on with their lives, he said.

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners president, Dr Samantha Murton, said the new rules were looser than many health professionals probably expected.

"The list has some of the very valid reasons and then also the minor irritations of wearing a mask and then gives some example of why you should still be wearing a mask.

"However, it also gives the option 'I still want an exemption card.'"

They had to balance the risk of not wearing a mask with Covid in the community - with how a mask affected other health concerns, she said.

She wanted assurance exemptions were given for valid reasons.

"Making sure that if we're going to have to put in effort to have them get access to service, not contaminate other people, not put staff in jeopardy, then we have to rejig what we would normally do as far as our normal processes go.

"You'd want to know that there was a valid reason for why you were doing that.

"So when it is that 'I just can't be bothered and I'm going to get a mask exemption', then that's unfair on all those people who have valid reasons for having a mask exemption."

She said she always wore a mask while performing surgery so she didn't contaminate other people.

"There are recognised reasons for why masks are very, very effective, and I think if you haven't been in a profession where you might be using them all the time, you may not recognise what the effectiveness is and how important it is when it's not your normal world view."

The Ministry of Health said requesting a face mask exemption card would be a robust process.

"People who misuse the process can face real penalties for doing so. While obtaining one of the new exemption cards will be a straightforward process, there will be some checks against misuse.

"The cards will be anchored to the person's National Health Index number, and will have the person's name printed on them. This allows for the person's declaration to be checked in the event that someone complains about presentation of a fraudulently-obtained card."

Anyone who fraudulently misused the application process would be in breach of the Covid-19 Order under the Covid-19 (Public Health Response) Act 2020.

"If convicted under s26 of that Act, people can be sentenced to up to 6 months imprisonment or a fine of up to $12,000 for an individual or $15,000 for a business."

The Ministry said the list of conditions was part of the process to request a communication card and was an interim measure until the new face mask exemption process was established at the end of May.

"However, the list is provided for guidance only. The key requirement is that the applicant state that wearing a face covering is unsuitable because you have a physical or mental illness or condition or disability."

Medical practitioners won't need to sign off on the cards - as it would be too much of a barrier and an additional cost," the Ministry said.

"Some people who are exempt don't have ready access to transport or childcare and if there was a cost that would have been a barrier for many people. It also would have placed significant pressure on GPs who are already managing the additional workloads associated with supporting people with Covid-19 in the community.

"A requirement to provide a medical certificate could have led to thousands of additional appointments needed at a time when general practice is already dealing with both Covid-19 related work and the usual pressures."

People could apply online from the end of May.