# Capture — if you’re well

- **Claim filed (July):** Wear a face covering (cloth, scarf, surgical) in public to stop the spread.
- **Claim filed (March):** If you’re well and not caring for a COVID patient, you probably do not need a mask.
- **Who:** ABC Health (March); Daniel Andrews / Victorian mandate (July)
- **URLs:**  
  https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-03-25/coronavirus-covid-19-face-mask-surgical-mask-protection/12088314  
  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-23/face-masks-compulsory-in-melbourne-as-covid-19-fight-intensifies/12484876
- **Dates:** 25 March 2020; 23 July 2020
- **Captured:** 2026-08-14

## March — ABC Health

> If you're well, and are not caring for a person with COVID-19, the answer is probably no.

Headline: “Face masks not recommended for healthy individuals.” Healthy people “aren't recommended” respirators either.

## July — same city, cloth or a scarf

> Almost everyone in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire now needs to wear a face covering when in public, or face a $200 fine.

> Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday said he was "deeply grateful" to Victorians who were wearing masks, staying at home and "making sacrifices" to stop the spread of coronavirus.

> Whether they're blue surgical masks, patterned cloth masks or a scarf

Healthdirect, later: cloth masks give “the least protection” from droplets and aerosols, “but they can still help stop the spread of disease.” (`healthdirect-masks.html`)

## What this file does not do

It does not file “masks never worked.” It files the slide from “probably no” (if well) to a $200 fine for a scarf, four months later, under the same verb: stop the spread.