Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth has claimed that patients need to be protected from “fearful doctors”.

The infectious diseases and respiratory physician took to Twitter to slam ongoing mask mandates in public hospitals, then doubled down after attracting nearly 1000 responses.

“Best thing about private practice is I don’t wear a mask to see patients anymore and haven’t done for quite some time,” Dr Coatsworth said last Thursday.

“What’s the end point for public hospitals that still require masks? They are not, and never have been, a cost-neutral intervention.”