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The reports of the withdrawal were first reported by Nafiseh Kohnavard, a correspondent who is focused on Middle East issues for the BBC World Service and BBC Persian and is an expert on developments in Iraq. Other networks have reported the same: that the US claims it may be withdrawing some personnel from Iraq and that Iraq's prime minister will discuss the matter with US President Joe Biden.

For observers of Iraq who have spent years there or covered the US-led coalition that helped defeat ISIS, there are many questions about what Washington is doing. The US has had an "advise and assist" and a "train and equip" role in Iraq in the past. The US-led coalition is in the country at the invitation of the Iraqis. The US returned in 2014 to help fight ISIS, after having left in 2011.

The US works "by, with and through" the Iraqi security forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga. The coalition has trained some 200,000 people in Iraq, as well as providing equipment. US contractors based in Balad also help maintain Iraqi warplanes.

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Since May 2019, US and coalition forces have come under attack in Iraq by pro-Iranian militias.

An American contractor in December 2019, which resulted in US retaliation, including protests at the US Embassy and the killing of IRCG Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani . The result of these tensions was further attacks on coalition forces; several were killed at in August 2020 while the US repositioned its forces, leaving half a dozen small facilities in the area.

By 2021, American forces were concentrated at Al Asad base in western Iraq, in Baghdad and also in Erbil in the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Pro-Iran militias have begun using drones to attack the US in the Kurdistan Region.

US official Brett McGurk, a former coalition envoy who played a key role in Iraq for decades, recently to Baghdad. The rumors that emerged from that trip were of the US withdrawing "combat troops." However, this term is misleading because US forces are not engaged in combat in Iraq.

The US provides the Iraqis with training and ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) missions, such as drone strikes or support for airstrikes. Generally, the pandemic and US-Iran tensions have meant US forces don't do much of their old role. Nevertheless, their presence is important.

Currently, the pro-Iran militias have been speaking strongly to Iranian media outlets, including Fars News Agency and Tasnim News Agency, warning the US against any obfuscation or shenanigans.

Qasim al-Kariti, a commander from the Iraqi Al-Hashd al-Shaabi organization, said the US was not serious about withdrawing its troops from Iraq, Fars News reported. "The presence of US forces showed that the statements of the Iraqi government and the American side were false," he told Al-Ahwd news site.

Pro-Iran militias, which can number some 100,000 fighters, have claimed to have used "thermal cameras" to track US movements and US helicopters. They are grouped under the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Units, which are an official paramilitary force, similar to the IRGC in Iraq.

These groups include numerous historically pro-Iranian groups, gangs and militias, including Badr, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah. In recent years, few new groups have emerged to take credit for attacks on US forces, but most analysts think these groups are just fake names for elements of Kataib Hezbollah. The Hashd also have a bunch of territorial regiments that are linked to various shrines.

Pro-Iranian forces have been strengthened, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada commander Abu Alaa al-Walae told the Associated Press in Baghdad in early July, and he vowed to retaliate against the US for an airstrike in Syria.

The American "occupier" must be expelled, Walae was quoted by Fars News as saying, adding that "all those who advocate for the United States to remain in Iraq must accept the consequences, such as the shedding of blood [of the Iraqi people] and the violation of their dignity."

The Iraqis have continued to negotiate, while the Iraqi government wants the troops to leave and only military advisers and trainers to remain, but Washington wants to keep some of its troops there, according to the report.

This is the fourth round of "strategic" talks between the US and Iraq. Pro-Iranian groups continue to target logistics convoys that supply US and coalition forces. The vulnerability of these convoys shows the "limitations" of the US mission, the report said.

The security chief of Kataib Hezbollah's battalions in Iraq "warned that the [pro-Iranian] resistance would continue its operation if the United States did not withdraw its troops from Iraq," according to Tasnim's Abu Ali al-Askari. "If the United States does not withdraw its forces from Iraq, the resistance will continue its operations until the last American soldier leaves," he wrote.

Askari wants the US to explicitly announce the withdrawal of its forces and wants to see them leave. He says attacks will continue and "intensify" if the "resistance" sees the US is not leaving. He believes Iraq may be deceived by the US.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein is leading discussions with the US at the behest of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

"The remarks of the Iraqi foreign minister have provoked a negative reaction from some Iraqi politicians and groups," Tasnim reported. "Fuad Hussein has spoken of the need for US troops to remain, while former interior minister and current Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji, who is in the strategic talks, has called for an immediate end to the [US presence]."

The presence in future discussions with the US of Araji and other senior figures who are close to Iran, such as Hadi al-Amiri, has raised eyebrows among some more extreme pro-Iran elements who have only complained about their willingness to talk to the US and wait and see if it leaves.

These voices want revenge now against what they see as US "occupation" and airstrikes on allied militias in Syria.

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Pro-Iran militias in Iraq warn US over withdrawal doublespeak

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The reports of the withdrawal were first reported by Nafiseh Kohnavard, a correspondent who is focused on Middle East issues for the BBC World Service and BBC Persian and is an expert on developments in Iraq.

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By Aamer Madhani and Robert Burns

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Washington: US President Joe Biden said the US military's combat mission in Iraq will conclude by the end of the year, setting out a more precise timeline for American forces to formally step back in their fight against the Islamic State organisation in Iraq.

The plan to shift the American military mission to a strictly advisory and training one by year's end - with no US troops in a combat role - will be spelled out in a broader communique to be issued by U.S. and Iraq following Biden's White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday afternoon (Tuesday AEST). That's according to a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the still-unannounced plan.

President Joe Biden laughs during his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday. Credit:AP

"We're not going to be by the end of the year in a combat mission," said Biden, who noted US forces will remain in the country to train and assist Iraqi forces as needed.

"Our shared fight against ISIS is critical for the stability of the region and our counterterrorism cooperation will continue even as we shift to this new phase that we're going to be talking about," Biden added.

The US troop presence has stood at about 2500 since late last year when then-President Donald Trump ordered a reduction from 3000. Biden not say how many US troops would remain in Iraq when the combat mission is formally completed. The troop reduction may not be substantial because of the continuing advisory and training mission.

US President Joe Biden, right, listens as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office. Credit:AP

The plan to end the US combat mission in Iraq follows Biden's decision to withdraw fully from Afghanistan nearly 20 years after President George W. Bush launched that war in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Less than two years later, Bush started the war in Iraq.

Biden has vowed to continue counterterrorism efforts in the Middle East but shift more attention to China as a long-term security challenge.

The senior administration official said Iraqi security forces are "battle tested" and have proved themselves "capable" of protecting their country. Still, the Biden administration recognises that IS remains a considerable threat, the official said.

Indeed, the organisation is a shell of its former self since it was largely routed on the battlefield in 2017. Still, it has shown it can carry out high-casualty attacks. Last week, the group claimed responsibility for a roadside bombing that killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens in a busy suburban Baghdad market.

Iran-backed militia fighters march in central Baghdad, Iraq in June. Credit:AP

The US and Iraq agreed in April that the US transition to a train-and-advise mission meant the US combat role would end, but they didn't settle on a timetable for completing that transition. The impending announcement comes less than three months before parliamentary elections slated for October 10.

"America has helped Iraq," al-Kadhimi said. "Together we fight and defeated" the Islamic State.

Al-Kadhimi faces no shortage of problems. Iranian-backed militias operating inside Iraq have stepped up attacks against US forces in recent months, and a series of devastating hospital fires that left dozens of people dead and soaring coronavirus infections have added fresh layers of frustration for the nation.

For al-Kadhimi, the ability to offer the Iraqi public a date for the end of the US combat presence could be a feather in his cap before the election.

Biden administration officials say al-Kadhimi also deserves credit for improving Iraq's standing in the Mideast.
AP

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Joe Biden says US combat missions in Iraq to end this year

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By Aamer Madhani and Robert Burns Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Washington: US President Joe Biden said the US military's combat mission in Iraq will conclude by the end of the year, setting out a more precise timeline for American forces to formally step back in their fight against the Islamic State organisation in Iraq.

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By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland

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At the urging of federal regulators, two coronavirus vaccine makers are expanding the size of their studies in children ages 5 to 11 - a precautionary measure designed to detect rare side effects including heart inflammation problems that turned up in vaccinated people younger than 30.

Appearing at a televised town-hall-style meeting in Ohio last week, President Joe Biden said that emergency clearance for pediatric vaccines would come "soon". The White House has declined to be more specific on the timeline, and it was unclear whether expanding the studies will have any effect on when vaccines could be authorised for children.

At the FDA's urging, the Pfizer vaccine will be tested on more children. Credit:Pfizer

Multiple people familiar with the trials said the Food and Drug Administration has indicated to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that the size and scope of their pediatric studies, as initially envisioned, were inadequate to detect the rare side effects, including myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart.

Members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee have said that the benefits of shots for people older than 12 greatly outweigh the risks, including of heart problems.

The FDA has asked the companies to include 3000 children in the 5-to-11-year-old age group, the group for whom results were expected first, according to people familiar with the situation. One of the people, granted anonymity to speak freely, described that as double the original number of study participants envisioned.

A spokesman for Moderna, Ray Jordan, confirmed that the company intends to expand its trial "to enroll a larger safety database which increases the likelihood of detecting rarer events" and expects to seek emergency authorisation in "winter 2021/early 2022″.

The Moderna vaccine. Credit:AP

The Moderna trial began recruiting patients in March with the overall aim of enrolling 6795 participants younger than 12. The participants were to be split equally into three age brackets, including a 6-to-11-year-old group, of 2265 participants each. Jordan said the company is "actively discussing" a proposal with the FDA to expand the trial.

Pfizer is on a faster timetable than Moderna, and may be able to meet the FDA's expectations on a bigger trial size and still file a request to expand emergency authorisation of its vaccine by the end of September. Reviewing all the safety and efficacy data will likely take regulators at least a few weeks.

Pfizer has previously said it expects to have results for the 5-to-11 group in September, with results for children aged 2 to 5 shortly after. Results for the youngest children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years old are expected in October or November. A spokeswoman said Monday that the company had no updates on its timetable.

Questions about vaccinating children - including those younger than 12 - are of huge interest to parents and teachers. Regulators will be required to balance potential side effects of coronavirus vaccination against the risks of COVID-19 itself.

A spokesperson for the FDA, Stephanie Caccomo, declined to offer specifics.

"While we cannot comment on individual interactions with sponsors, we do generally work with sponsors to ensure the number of participants in clinical trials are of adequate size to detect safety signals," she said in an email message.

In June, the CDC published data showing that the two vaccines may have caused myocarditis and pericarditis in more than 1200 Americans, including about 500 who were younger than 30. The symptoms typically appeared within two weeks and were more common in young men and boys. The rate was low: Fewer than 13 cases per 1 million second doses administered.

Most cases were mild and quickly cleared up, the researchers said. Dr Paul A. Offit, an infectious disease specialist who previously served on the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, which makes recommendations on vaccine use in the United States, noted that infection with the coronavirus also carries a risk.

If expanding the trials were to cause a delay in authorising vaccines for pediatric use, he said, that would also put children at risk.

"There's always a human price to pay for knowledge," he said. Of the heart ailments, he said, "It's rare, it's generally short-lived and self resolving. It's also a consequence of natural infection."

The CDC's data showed 12.6 cases per 1 million second doses administered, and researchers estimated that out of 1 million second doses given to boys ages 12 to 17, the vaccines might cause a maximum of 70 myocarditis cases but would prevent 5700 virus infections, 215 hospitalisations and two deaths.

COVID-19 itself may cause heart problems in young people.

Vaccinated children in Toronto, Canada. Credit:AP

The FDA authorised the Pfizer vaccine on an emergency basis for children ages 12 to 15 in April; so far, the Moderna vaccine has been cleared only for people 18 and older. The agency attached a warning about potential heart problems to the fact sheets of the vaccines in June.

Many public health experts argue that, with so much attention focused on hospitalisations and deaths among older Americans infected with the coronavirus, the risk for children has been overlooked. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported last week that more than 4 million American young children and adolescents have tested positive for the virus and 346 have died since the outset of the pandemic.

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland

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US drug authority urges Pfizer, Moderna to expand child testing of vaccines

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By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size At the urging of federal regulators, two coronavirus vaccine makers are expanding the size of their studies in children ages 5 to 11 - a precautionary measure designed to detect rare side effects including heart inflammation problems that turned up in vaccinated people younger than 30.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised concerns on Monday about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, lifting its travel health notice to "Level 3: High.

In June, the CDC had lowered its travel advisory rating for Israel to "Level 1: Low." The "Level 3" rating says unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to Israel and is one level below the CDC's most severe travel rating.

Israel's coronavirus cases have continued to rise, data from Israel's Health Ministry showed on Monday, with 1,404 cases diagnosed on Sunday, and 1,538 cases diagnosed from midnight on Monday until press time.

Some 121 Israelis are now hospitalized in serious condition, of whom 25 are currently intubated. The positivity rate has continued to rise and now stands at 2.17%, the highest positivity rate since March.

The overall death toll from coronavirus in Israel now stands at 6,461.

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Israel has also been limiting the entrance of people from certain countries in an effort to mitigate the spread of coronavirus and prevent new mutations from entering the country.

Due to rising rates of coronavirus in Spain and Kyrgyzstan, the two countries were added to the list of countries that Israelis are now no longer allowed to visit until further notice, the Knesset's Constitutional Committee approved on Monday.

In doing so, they join a list that already includes the countries of Uzbekistan, Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, and Russia.

In addition, the committee agreed not to approve adding to the list the following countries: Georgia, Turkey, Cyprus and the United Kingdom.
Rossella Tercatin contributed to this article.

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US CDC recommends unvaccinated tourists avoid Israel amid COVID spike

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised concerns on Monday about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, lifting its travel health notice to "Level 3: High. In June, the CDC had lowered its travel advisory rating for Israel to "Level 1: Low."

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Palestine Olympic Committee chairman Jibril Rajoub has publicly encouraged Olympic athletes to boycott Israel and forfeit matches against Israelis.

Rajoub posted photos of himself with Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine on social media, writing that he appreciates Nourine's "courageous stance refusing normalization."

Nourine refused to face off against Israel's Tohar Butbul.

"We worked a lot to reach the Olympics... but the Palestinian cause is greater than all of this," he told Algerian television.

The International Judo Federation suspended Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, who then lost their Algerian Olympic Committee accreditation.

Nourine's stance "reflects the persistence of the Algerian people with Palestine and all that it has suffered from hostilities and official Israeli terrorism," Rajoub said in an interview with an Algerian radio station that he posted on his Facebook page.

"There is no place for meetings with whoever is connected to this official terrorism, not in sport or outside of it," he added. "I hope that this message goes out to all the Arabs who are normalizing... and even those who, unfortunately, sign agreements with branches of Israeli sports, in light of the oppression and the difficulties that Palestinian players face."

Rajoub repeated his lament against Arab states that cooperate with Israel in sports, emphasizing that some Israeli sports leagues have activities in the West Bank.

Rajoub is also the head of the Palestinian Football Association and campaigned to have FIFA, the international soccer association, boycott Israel.

In 2018, FIFA fined Rajoub $20,000 and banned him from the association for inciting hatred and violence against Argentina, which had agreed to play a friendly match in Israel. Argentina canceled the game following the threats.

Rajoub "glorified terrorism," encouraging soccer tournaments and teams to be named after Palestinian terrorists, and compared Israelis to "Satan and Nazis," FIFA's chief of investigations said.

Sudanese judoka Mohamed Abdalrasool also withdrew from the Olympics on Monday before his scheduled match against Butbul, without giving a reason.

Butbul said Abdalrasool had said he had a shoulder injury, but the Israeli team was not convinced, the AP reported.

Sudan and Israel established diplomatic relations last year.

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Palestinian Olympic official urges athletes to forfeit Israel matches

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Palestine Olympic Committee chairman Jibril Rajoub has publicly encouraged Olympic athletes to boycott Israel and forfeit matches against Israelis. Rajoub posted photos of himself with Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine on social media, writing that he appreciates Nourine's "courageous stance refusing normalization." Nourine refused to face off against Israel's Tohar Butbul.

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Tokyo: They are just kids. On Monday, one of them became the youngest Olympic gold medallist in more than 80 years.

Nishiya Momiji, the 13-year-old pocket rocket from Osaka, won the street skating in a cliffhanger, giving Japan two gold medals from two skating events and a new national hero.

To do it she beat fellow 13-year-old Rayssa Leal from Brazil and her Japanese compatriot, Funa Nakayama, 16, in heat so hot it turned laptops off. Together they made the youngest podium in history.

Each of them was fearless. Pounding the pavement, run after run, they hit the concrete hard on more than one occasion. They fist-bumped between kick-flips and cheered when another landed after getting some air.

When Momiji skates she soars. Down ramps, off-ramps, the board glued to her feet. After seven rounds, her date with glory came down to the final trick. When the pressure rose so did she.

Charging towards the left-hand rail she leapt her own height, locked the board onto the rail, backwards, and landed like she would at her local skate park.

Momiji must have practised the high-stakes manoeuvre thousands of times in her short life, but here, at her home Olympics, all of the bruises and sprains paid off. They won her gold.

Momiji will now vault into that exclusive Japanese gold medal club. At 13 years and 330 days old she is the youngest individual Olympic gold medallist in 85 years. US diver Marjorie Gestring was 13 years and 268 days old when she won gold in 1936.

In that same club, she will meet Yuto Horigome, Japan's men's street skateboarder who took out gold on Sunday. Japan has gone two from two when the country, torn between a pandemic and the most expensive Olympics in history, has needed it most.

"I did my best and I gained a gold medal," the teenager said as she faced a 100-strong press pack on Monday in Tokyo. Clapped in and out of the media room, the trio had translators in their ears as their parents watched on.

Asked if they thought when they were younger that girls could not skateboard, they laughed. "I think they can of course," said Momiji. "I'm sure they can skateboard."

Australia's Hayley Wilson was eliminated ahead of the final, finishing 16th after a solid start turned into a frustrating morning of missed landings. The 19-year-old, who left school to focus on qualifying for the Olympics, dominated in one of her runs, scoring the second-highest score of the heat but could not sustain her form in the tricks section.

Part of the challenge of street skating is that you are only ever one trick away from a face plant. This was a young, nimble sport on debut at the Olympic and it showed.

The oldest competitor US skater Alexis Sablone did well to make the final. She is 34, more than double the winners ages. As she recovered from a couple of nasty falls after the heats, other skaters were FaceTiming parents and friends at home.

Momiji is now set to become a skateboarding icon and a figurehead for Japanese women's sport.

Japan has struggled to shake entrenched gender roles, where women are expected to focus on study to get into university and then later raise a family. Sport, particularly the elite kind, has historically been seen as a distraction for women in this country of 126 million.

Only 27 per cent of female high school students play sport, the Japanese government's white paper on gender equity found in 2018. There are only 48 female soccer teams across the country's 10,324 middle schools. Just 10 per cent of its Olympics coaches are women and only 11 per cent of the country's sports executives.

Asked if this was a turning point, Momiji was philosophical. "Today it so happens that we won," she said. "I don't know if that means Japan is strong."

Her victory, along with the bronze for Nakayama and the gold for Horigome on Monday, is all the more remarkable because of Japan's reluctance to embrace skating at all. It is rare to see groups of kids skating down the street in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka.

Everything in Japan has its place, a skateboard's is not on the street. They are prohibited in most public places and youth's brandishing boards are regularly stopped by police.

Skaters, like the duo atop the dais on Monday in Tokyo, are relegated to the concrete bowls of the suburbs.

"I hope that we will see many more parks to practise in Japan," said Nakayama.

If anything is going to turbocharge the push to make skating mainstream in Japan it is the sight of these two, high-fiving above the ramp and giggling on the podium.

But first, Momiji said, she will hang her gold medal in her family living room.
Never miss a medal or great sporting moment with our Olympic update emailed daily. Sign up for our Sport newsletter here.

Eryk Bagshaw is the North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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The 13-year-old who made history with gold for Japan

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Tokyo: They are just kids. On Monday, one of them became the youngest Olympic gold medallist in more than 80 years. Nishiya Momiji, the 13-year-old pocket rocket from Osaka, won the street skating in a cliffhanger, giving Japan two gold medals from two skating events and a new national hero.

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Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose anti-Semitism, in Parliament Square in London, Britain, March 26, 2018.

(photo credit: HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS)

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London teenager charged for antisemitic incident in train station

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Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose anti-Semitism, in Parliament Square in London, Britain, March 26, 2018. (photo credit: HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS)

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Nici Berman used to worry that using a sick day for her mental health would lead to her being cast as incompetent by her boss and coworkers.

The 25-year-old social worker, from Vaucluse in Sydney, says her job - which involves helping domestic violence survivors and people with serious mental illness - can be emotionally taxing, but she wanted to prove she could handle the work.

"I wanted to show [my team] I was resilient and strong, and I put on a brave face," Berman says.

Nici Berman, 25, encourages people to take a mental health day whenever they need it. Credit:Nick Moir

"I then remember speaking to a colleague who said, 'You need to take care of yourself ... You can't help other people or do your job if you don't help yourself'."

So, at the start of 2020, she took her first mental health day, and has had several more since. Berman uses the time to reflect on what led her to become overwhelmed and formulate steps to avoid reaching that point. She tends to start the day with a big walk to clear her head, stays off social media and does some journaling.

Berman isn't alone, with new research suggesting there is a marked increase in workers - particularly young employees - taking a mental health day since the pandemic.

Finance company Finder surveyed 650 Australian workers and found more than a third had used sick leave for their mental health in the last 12 months. In 2018, only 16 per cent had done so.

Finder's editor-at-large Kate Browne puts the rise down to both raised awareness of mental health issues and the toll of the pandemic.

Beyond Blue lead clinical adviser Dr Grant Blashki, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, says many Australians have been dealing with a "triple whammy" of personal, work, and family or relationship stress, exacerbated by the pandemic.

A recent report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that in June 2021, one in five Australians had high or very high psychological distress. Among people aged 18-34 it was one in three.

To top it off, Blashki points out burnt-out workers are booking less annual leave because of travel restrictions, so a day off for mental wellbeing may be even more needed.

"I then remember speaking to a colleague who said, 'You need to take care of yourself ... You can't help other people or do your job if you don't help yourself'."
Nici Berman

The Finder survey found Gen Z workers were the most likely generation to take a mental health day, at 48 per cent, compared to 41 per cent of Millennials, 28 per cent of Gen X and 13 per cent of Baby Boomers. The survey also found that women were more likely than men.

Blashki isn't surprised. He says the past 18 months have hit young people hard, from job prospects to losing social freedoms at a key time of their life, while women are taking on the lion's share of childcare and domestic duties.

Mental illness also remains more shrouded in stigma among men and older Australians.

"We've seen a generational shift in willingness to talk about mental health," Blashki says.

Nici Berman says Gen Z has grown up with mental health being taught in schools, and subscribes to a "call-out culture" that is determined to tear down taboos. "I think we don't ignore mental illness, we go and seek help ... and not see that as a weak thing, but as courageous."

Berman - who started an Instagram account last year aimed at helping women's mental health - says social media also plays a big role because it normalises sharing personal experiences.

Employers, too, are learning the importance of investing in a mentally healthy and supportive workplace - particularly during COVID-19 - which also translates to greater economic and social outcomes, Blashki says. Analysis has found that workplaces receive a return of $2.30 for every dollar spent on mental health action.

One business treating this as a priority is Melbourne-based food ordering startup Mr Yum. The company's head of people, Laura Sloane, says it has a no-questions-asked approach to mental health days for its 90 staff, and it's signing on with Frankie, a proactive mental wellbeing platform that provides each employee a tailored "care journey".

Dr Grant Blashki's advice for taking a mental health day during COVID-19

Switch off from work properly. Turn off your emails, shut down your laptop and make sure any work-related notifications are off. If you have a work phone, put it on airplane mode.

Plan some self-care. Consider a mix of relaxing behaviours like walking, reading or watching a movie, and productive ones such as organising medical appointments, personal grooming and sorting finances.

Take a break from the news. Don't consume COVID-19 updates all day. It's not good for your mind.

"[More] people are feeling like you can be open and transparent and honest with your manager ... without feeling like it's going to be to your detriment," Sloane says.

Still, for all our society's progress, many workers continue to conceal from their bosses when they are using sick leave for mental health. While Blashki hopes all employers strive to improve their culture, he encourages workers to use their judgment.

"Some workplaces can be pretty brutal and you might decide it's not a good idea to say [you're having a mental health day], that it might affect a promotion or perception," Blashki says.

"In a perfect world every employer would be enlightened and infinitely supportive of their staff, but we know that [many] are under enormous pressure at the moment."

Blashki says the signs that you may need a mental health day include finding you can't stop thinking about work, poor sleep, feeling less sharp or productive at work, and being on your email a lot after-hours.

"When people are a bit burnt out their concentration and performance deteriorates," Blashki says. "All of us need to take a bit of a break sometimes, but don't forget to book in annual leave too."
If you or anyone you know is struggling to cope during the pandemic, you can call Beyond Blue's Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service on 1800 512 348.

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Sophie is Deputy Lifestyle Editor for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

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Just take the mental health day. Here's why more of us are

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Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Nici Berman used to worry that using a sick day for her mental health would lead to her being cast as incompetent by her boss and coworkers.