South Australians are being urged to reconsider any plans to travel to Western Australia, as the WA Government warns it is considering reimposing the state's hard border in response to the growing Adelaide coronavirus cluster.
Key points:
- A cluster of COVID-19 cases in South Australia is growing
- Travel restrictions have already been imposed on travellers from that state
- But the WA Government says tighter restrictions are likely
"This is a serious outbreak and it's something we are very concerned about," WA Health Minister Roger Cook told ABC Radio Perth.
"I would just say to members of the public who have relatives that are thinking of travelling from Adelaide, that they should reconsider their travel at this point in time."
Mr Cook said the situation was "very fluid" and the Government was considering whether it needed to introduce "other arrangements" to prevent the outbreak spreading to WA.
"The Premier and I have always said that we will put the hard border back in place if the situation required it, and we are closely examining this situation to consider that very proposal," he said.
New restrictions were yesterday imposed on people arriving in WA from South Australia, less than 48 hours after WA's hard border was eased.
Anyone arriving from South Australia at Perth Airport must now self-quarantine for 14 days, as well as be tested for COVID-19 within 24 hours, and again on their 11th day in WA.
Anyone arriving by road will also have to self-quarantine and be tested on days 2 and 11.
SA cluster resembles Victoria's: Cook
Mr Cook suggested it was likely those requirements would be tightened even further.
"The South Australian cluster looks very similar to the Victorian one when it first started, so we are looking at what other measures we need to put in place," he said.
Mr Cook said 613 people had arrived in WA from South Australia since the hard border was eased, and each of them had been contacted by WA Police.
He said anyone travelling from South Australia to WA by road would now be required to undertake a COVID-19 test at Norseman, the first town motorists pass through after crossing the border.
Norseman residents on edge
South Australia's outbreak has been met with concern and anxiety in Norseman, with some locals calling for the interstate border to be closed again.
Norseman resident and businessman Claye Poletti said he was concerned the new cases would lead to an outbreak in WA.
"I'd rather have it shut till it's all cleared up in Australia," said Mr Poletti, who has owned the Norseman Hotel for 22 years.
"It is really scary, you know. It just spreads so easy."
Local resident and Norseman Community Development Program supervisor Gary Carroll said he was also feeling nervous, as the town was a gateway for travellers entering the state.
"We deal with people everyday you know, five days a week, so it's just a matter if one person gets it everybody gets it … more or less," he said.
"We don't want to end up like America, Europe and all of that, bad situation because people simply don't follow procedures. I mean it's a pandemic.
"[But] it's not a massive break-out is it? I mean we've got things in place, people know how to hygiene these days … but we'll have to see what [develops]. That's why we have a Chief Health Officer, it's in his hands … and the Premier's of course."
'Big let down after big build up'
Dundas Shire President Laurene Bonza said the news out of South Australia would be devastating for businesses along the Eyre Highway, which had been gearing up for an increase in trade for the first time in months.
"It is pretty unfortunate timing," she said.
"Everyone on the highway was looking forward to some more trade and I think that's going to grind to a halt.
"It will be a big let down after the big build up."
Ms Bonza said very few travellers had stayed in Norseman after driving across the border, but she was worried about whether those coming across from today would be directed straight to the nearest hospital for a COVID-19 test, which would be Norseman.
"The hospital has been geared up for testing anyway because we have been testing all of the truck drivers and we have had people self-isolating in town," she said.
"The issue would probably be if they had a sudden influx of a lot of people, so we will be checking with them to make sure they've got enough supplies and try to encourage the Health Department to get onto that.
"We need the correct, up-to-date information [from the State Government] to be able to tell people, because that reduces anxiety."
Ms Bonza said the community would be on high alert.
"One of the great benefits of being in a small community is we all know each other, so we operate a bit like the meerkats here," she said.
Someone is always on the lookout and if something is wrong then word gets out pretty quick."
'A rollercoaster of emotions'
Closer to the border at Eucla, business operators had mixed emotions.
Brooke Littlewood from the Eucla Motel said the business took a financial hit during the eight-month border closure, and she had hoped for the return of customers.
"It was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions," she said.
"You know you're nervous about what it's going to look like [when it reopens] and then you're excited to see the return of visitors, then all of a sudden it's [all changing]."
She said staff knew the border arrangements might change again, but she was surprised it had happened so quickly.
"It definitely was in the back of my mind and I think one thing I've learnt from this pandemic is you just don't know what to expect, but I just didn't expect it to happen so soon," she said.
Travellers turn their cars around
At the South Australian border, some motorists turned back after being told of the quarantine requirements.
Peta Stimson said her family was on a road trip across Australia and passed through the Eucla checkpoint on Sunday morning.
"We're probably going to go back to South Australia because to drive another 600 kilometres or so to Norseman and sit there in a caravan park with three little girls for 14 days, it's a big chunk of time and not something that we want to do," she said.
"If we knew when we were coming over we would have to do 14 days of quarantining, we would have said no way, we will go back and spend our time in South Australia.
"It sounds like Victoria is no longer the COVID state, so we might go there."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTE2L3dhLWhhcmQtYm9yZGVyLW1heS1iZS1yZWltcG9zZWQtYWZ0ZXItc2EtY29yb25hdmlydXMtb3V0YnJlYWsvMTI4ODY0NTTSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI4ODY0NTQ?oc=5
2020-11-16 02:10:00Z
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