Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth has opened a can of worms after publicly admitting he removes his mask when giving patients bad news.

The Canberran infectious diseases expert and COVID-19 specialist made the admission while discussing why he doesn’t believe children should wear masks in schools during an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Admitting mask use in schools was one area where he was not “quite as mainstream”, Dr Coatsworth argued that 80-90% of communication was through facial expression.

“If I give a tough diagnosis to a patient with a mask on, like a cancer diagnosis or a severe infection or something like that I need to take my mask off,” he said.