The WA Government has increased its restrictions on people coming from New South Wales, requiring travellers to self-quarantine for 14 days after they arrive in Western Australia, under an 11th-hour change to the state's border rules.
Key points:
- Premier Mark McGowan says an emergency meeting was held
- From 12:01am Friday, NSW arrivals must quarantine for 14 days
- The state's peak medical body has welcomed the announcement
In a statement issued just before 7:30pm on Thursday night, WA Premier Mark McGowan revealed an emergency meeting had determined New South Wales would go from being categorised as a "very-low risk" to a "low-risk" state.
It means anyone arriving from New South Wales from midnight on Friday will have to self-quarantine for 14 days and be tested for the virus on day 11.
Mr McGowan said the decision was motivated by 12 locally acquired cases being diagnosed in New South Wales on Thursday.
"As a result, WA's Chief Health Officer has consulted further with NSW Health and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and has updated advice to the Western Australian Government," he said.
Under the new rules, anyone who has arrived from, or was in, New South Wales from December 11, and who arrives before midnight on Friday, will still be required to self-quarantine until they return a negative test.
They will then have to be tested again on day 11.
"This has been a difficult decision to make, but we need to follow the health advice and do what is in the best interest of all Western Australians," Mr McGowan said.
'It's the safest thing to do'
Australian Medical Association WA president Andrew Miller said he whole-heartedly supported the Government's decision.
"If we look around the world this really is the right thing to do, even though it's tough," Dr Miller said.
"Nobody wants Christmas 2020 to be remembered as the time that we lost control of this pandemic and ended up in the same position as the UK or the US.
"I think they've done the right thing, they've got the most up-to-date information and they've made the tough decision."
With growing uncertainty over more changes to WA's border, Dr Miller said it was something people would have to get used to.
"We really do need to accept that disruption to travel plans is just going to be part of life for the next twelve months," he said.
"It's the safest thing to do, the most efficient way to deal with it, and as we've seen it's also the least economically damaging way of dealing with it."
Dr Miller said with Christmas looming he hoped people would understand the necessity of the new arrangement.
"I hope that they get some solace in knowing that they're protecting some of the most vulnerable people in our community by putting up with this inconvenience," he said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTEyLTE3L3dhLXN0YXRlLWdvdmVybm1lbnQtb3JkZXJzLW5ldy1uc3ctYXJyaXZhbHMtdG8tcXVhcmFudGluZS8xMjk5NTcyMtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjk5NTcyMg?oc=5
2020-12-17 12:01:00Z
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