A museum in Tasmania will be the first arts institution in Australia to mandate all staff to have Covid vaccinations.
Mona art museum founder and owner David Walsh told workers on Thursday the decision was made because ‘if you are unvaccinated there is a small chance you will kill someone else.’
His reasoning was that museum staff have a regular chance of being exposed to the virus given they mingle with the public each day at work.
Recent studies suggest the vaccines are effective at stopping a person from catching the virus from someone else.
It is unknown if patrons will be turned away from the Mona if they are unvaccinated.
Mona Art Gallery owner and founder David Walsh (pictured) has announced all his staff will be required to have mandatory Covid vaccinations
Mr Walsh told his staff at the Mona art museum in Tasmania ‘if you are unvaccinated there is a small chance you will kill someone else’
‘I’d like to mandate vaccines for the public, too, but that’d be unfair to, for example, kids,’ Mr Walsh told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘This (decision) is harsh, but necessary.’
Other Australian companies who have announced mandatory vaccination requirements for staff include airlines Qantas and Virgin.
Fellow art institutions, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of NSW will follow measures in place from their respective state governments.
Last month, it was announced all healthcare staff in NSW must have a Covid jab or risk losing their jobs under new public health orders – something that has already been taken to court.
Healthcare workers are required to have at least one dose of the vaccine by September 30, and to be fully immunised or be booked in for their second jab by November 30 to continue their employment.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard urged staff to come forward and get jabbed to help ease pressure on the public health system.
All healthcare workers in NSW will be required to have at least Covid jab before September 30 if they are continue to be employed (stock image)
‘Many health workers in NSW are already vaccinated but if all of our staff are vaccinated it will provide greater protection for patients, visitors and other health staff,’ he said.
‘The public and private health systems have a responsibility to implement every possible measure to provide a safe work environment for their staff and most importantly, safe circumstances for their patients.’
Jabs for contagious diseases such as influenza, chicken pox, measles and whooping cough are already compulsory for frontline workers.
Healthcare staff must provide proof of their vaccination status to their employer by September 30 or face losing their jobs.
There has been some opposition to the push for mandatory vaccinations in NSW.
A legal challenge to mandatory Covid-19 vaccine requirements for some NSW workers was launched in the state’s highest court this week, as virus infections continue to climb by more than a thousand cases per day.
Sydney solicitor Tony Nikolic on Wednesday filed the suit against Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant in the NSW Supreme Court, with the matter due to be heard for the first time on Friday.
Law firm Ashley, Francina, Leonard and Associates argues the public health orders requiring ‘a broad class of workers’ be vaccinated is illegal and unconstitutional, as are the extra powers granted to police to enforce public health orders.
‘We have received thousands of inquiries from front-line workers – police, paramedics, nurses, aged care (staff), doctors, firefighters – construction workers, teachers, airline staff, miners, truck drivers, university students, mums and dads and, importantly, employers,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.
‘It is our view that vaccine compulsion strips citizens of their basic human rights, including their right to work, their right to bodily integrity and their right to informed consent to medical treatment without coercion.’
The suit will seek a declaration that the NSW public health orders are invalid and a ban on any further orders made by Mr Hazzard and Dr Chant.