Abstract
Aotearoa New Zealand succeeded in eliminating COVID-19, but this success has been challenged by poor management of cases at the border in mid-June 2020. Elimination status for the country may remain fragile given likely increases in arrivals from countries where COVID-19 is circulating, especially if border restrictions are eased further. In this editorial, we explore how outbreak prevention could be strengthened via universal (mass) masking. We describe why New Zealand needs to adopt mass masking in certain high-risk settings immediately, how to build mask use into a revised Alert Level system, and why it is important to make masks an acceptable part of respiratory hygiene practice. These challenges are urgent because universal adoption of non-medical masks may be an essential intervention to prevent lockdown in the event of future COVID-19 outbreaks (the so-called ‘second wave’).