Western Australia is introducing Australia’s toughest Covid-19 public health restrictions despite having just 11 people in hospital with the virus.
Year three students and above will be required to wear face masks in public and home gatherings will be limited to 10 people under new rules coming into effect statewide from 12.01am on Thursday.
Hospitality venues will avoid being subject to a four square metre density rule but will be limited to 150 patrons.
WA on Monday recorded a further 1,140 infections but none of the 11 cases in hospital are in intensive care. The state now has 5,540 active cases.
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan pictured right with his wife Sarah. WA is bringing in tough new Covid restrictions
Among the new infections were 476 self-reported positive rapid antigen tests (RAT).
Premier Mark McGowan insisted the strict new ‘level two’ rules were necessary to manage an outbreak which the government now expects to peak at about 10,000 daily cases within two to three weeks.
He said he was hopeful they would only need to remain in place for a month.
‘Based on the experience over east, this Omicron outbreak is expected to peak before the end of March,’ he said.
‘Case numbers will dramatically rise, hospitalisations will rise, some people will get very sick and tragically, some people may die.
‘March will be the most difficult month Western Australia experiences in this whole pandemic and we would be irresponsible if we didn’t have the most appropriate measures in place during the period where they are most required.’
Mr McGowan said the home gathering cap was being introduced because the virus often spread during those visits.
‘We know from the experience around the country, that it is the home gatherings of families that cause the most spread of the virus,’ he said.
‘We know that many families are already doing the right thing and minimising contact, particularly protecting the most vulnerable in their family, which is so important.’
With the rest of the nation easing restrictions, Mr McGowan denied it was premature to tighten rules which had only been in place for one week.
He expected hospitalisations to increase ‘dramatically’ despite WA entering its Omicron outbreak with far higher vaccination rates than other jurisdictions had.
About 63 per cent of eligible West Australians have now received their third vaccine dose.
WA Health modelling suggests the state will have almost half a million cases and 129 deaths over the next six months, with 715 people admitted to ICU.
One person has so far died during WA’s Omicron outbreak.
The government had initially flagged that a four square metre density rule would be implemented at some stage across hospitality venues.
That rule will now only come into effect at the Crown casino gaming floor.
Major stadiums, theatres and cinemas will have their capacity slashed to 50 per cent while hospital visits will be banned except for spouses, parents or carers, birth partners or those allowed in for compassionate reasons.
Weddings and funerals will be capped at 150 attendees.
Mr McGowan said the revised rules would spare smaller venues such as cafes and restaurants from financial pain while slowing the spread of cases.
A passenger is greeted by a loved one after a flight from Sydney arrives into Perth Airport on December 8, 2020. WA is due to reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers from Thursday
‘While we have avoided some of the tougher measures, this will still be an impact on many operators and on people’s lives and for that, I’m sorry,’ he said.
A new round of financial assistance for affected businesses will be announced later this week.
WA is due to also reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers from Thursday, with modelling indicating it will have a negligible impact on case numbers.
Mr McGowan announced on Sunday that in an Australian first, more than one million WA households would be provided with five RAT kits after registering online.
People were given the option of having the kits sent by post or picking them up at Perth Airport.
A young woman wears a face mask on December 24, 2021 in Perth. Western Australia is about to introduce Australia’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions
‘Every West Australian deserves to have access to a rapid test, no matter who they are and no matter where they live across WA,’ Mr McGowan said.
There have been more than 400,000 registrations so far, though some people said they had got an email saying their home address had already been registered.
A spokesperson for the premier said ‘an issue with the sequencing of emails’ had led to some people receiving an ‘address claimed’ notification.
In an Australian first, more than one million WA households would be provided with five RAT kits after registering online
‘We are working through this issue and will advise if people need to reorder their kit,’ they said.
‘Separate to this, an issue with the address validation process has, in some cases, resulted in duplication of emails going out.
‘This issue does not mean those who have received multiple emails won’t receive a RAT via delivery or be able to collect their kit.
‘If they have an order number, they will still receive a delivery or be able to collect their RAT.’
RATs can be registered for here.
