31 JANUARY UPDATE
Australia has gone 14 days with zero covid19 local transmission.
SW WA & ALL GREATER PERTH in a HARD LOCKDOWN for 5 day as a consequence of a Perth quarantine breach ( a floor guard has reported sick and tested positive for the B1117 strain. The guard has been in community between his shifts and lives in a sharehouse.
WA Premier Mark McGowan and WA CMO have decided to act fast and hard to break all chains of local covid19 transmission in a similar fashion as has worked successfully in Auckland, Greater Brisbane, Adelaide by going immediately to intensive testing , and a hard lockdown for at least 5 days.
Masks will be mandatory when ever outside the home in the SW of WA & Greater Perth.
Region in SW WA under hard lockdown , this is approximately 90% of the population of WA.
Coronavirus lockdown rules in place for the next five days in Perth, Peel and the South West of WA
Australia has gone 14 days with zero covid19 local transmission.
SW WA & ALL GREATER PERTH in a HARD LOCKDOWN for 5 day as a consequence of a Perth quarantine breach ( a floor guard has reported sick and tested positive for the B1117 strain. The guard has been in community between his shifts and lives in a sharehouse.
WA Premier Mark McGowan and WA CMO have decided to act fast and hard to break all chains of local covid19 transmission in a similar fashion as has worked successfully in Auckland, Greater Brisbane, Adelaide by going immediately to intensive testing , and a hard lockdown for at least 5 days.
Masks will be mandatory when ever outside the home in the SW of WA & Greater Perth.
Region in SW WA under hard lockdown , this is approximately 90% of the population of WA.
Coronavirus lockdown rules in place for the next five days in Perth, Peel and the South West of WA
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/coronavirus-lockdown-rules-in-place-for-the-next-five-days-in-perth-peel-and-the-south-west-of-wa/ar-BB1dfMbT?ocid=msedgdhpWestern Australia's Perth, Peel and South West regions have entered a five-day lockdown.
It's going to result in a major change for the way people in these areas live their lives.
So what are the COVID lockdown rules for Perth and the regions, and how will they affect you? We break down the Government's rules for you below.
When can I leave home?
You can only leave home for essential reasons.
They include:
Shopping for essentials and medicine
Accessing medical or health care services
Exercise, but only within your neighbourhood for one hour per day
Work, if you cannot do so from home
You also can't have visitors, unless they are there to care for you if you are vulnerable.
There are some exemptions for people who need to travel to care for a vulnerable community member, and on compassionate grounds.
If you are visiting the Perth or Peel region from elsewhere you are being asked to stay there until the lockdown is over.
Should I wear a mask?
First and foremost, you are only able to leave your home for one of the above four reasons.
If that is the case, a mask is required at all times outside.
If you work indoors, wearing a mask in your workplace is mandatory.
If you are catching public transport, you must also wear a mask.
Should I get tested?
If you have symptoms — yes.
But also if you live or work in the Falkirk Avenue, Maylands area including Coles, Liquorland and the Maylands shopping precinct you must present for a test.
You must also get tested if you have been to any of the following exposure sites:
Coles Maylands supermarket on 25 January from 8pm to 10pm
KFC Maylands on 27 January from 6pm to midnight
Mitsubishi Motors car dealership in Midland on 27 January from 7pm to close
Spudshed, Coventry Village in Morley on 27 January from 8pm to midnight
ECU Joondalup on 28 January from 11am to 2pm
Consulate General of India on St Georges Terrace in Perth on 28 January from 12pm to 5pm
Halal Grocery Store in Cloverdale on 28 January from 7pm to 9pm
Venus Ladies and Gentleman Hair Design Maylands hairdressers on 29 January from 1pm to 3pm
Perth Convention Centre on 29 January from 4pm to 6pm
Nedlands Family Practice GP surgery on 29 January from 5pm to 6pm
Chemist Warehouse North Perth Pharmacy on 29 January from 5.30pm to 7.30pm
7-Eleven Ascot petrol station on 29 January from 8pm to 9pm
Coles Maylands supermarket on 29 January from 8pm 9pm
Puma Service Station in Burswood on 30 January from 11am to 12 midday.
Coles Express/Shell Service Station in Cloverdale on 30 January from 12 midday to 3pm
Pharmacy 777 at Maylands Park Shopping Centre 30 January from 2.30pm to 4pm.
These are the venues that must close, including:
pubs
bars
clubs
gyms
indoor sporting facilities
playgrounds
skate parks
cinemas
entertainment venues
the casino
religious venues
libraries
restaurants
cafes
However restaurants and cafes will be able to open for takeaway.
Funerals and weddings will also be impacted.
Funerals will be reduced to 10 guests and weddings scheduled for the next five days must be cancelled.
What is happening with schools and childcare?
WA Premier Mark McGowan said public and private schools in affected areas would close.
However those outside the lockdown zones will be open for students to attend class.
Mr McGowan described it as an extension of the school holidays for those in the affected zones.
It is not clear whether learning from home options will be offered by some institutions.
Mr McGowan said the Government would work with the private schools to look at how they deal with their boarders who had already arrived for the new school year.
"It is an issue, at this stage they are not any particular risk, we have got no indication that they are at risk but will obviously need to look at how we lock them down in the next week," he said.
Childcare centres will remain open for the children of people who cannot work from home.
Will my surgery go ahead?
Elective surgeries for category two and three will be suspended Tuesday, but category one and urgent category two surgeries will continue.
Patients are being asked not to contact hospitals, but rather wait for hospitals to contact them about rescheduling their appointments.
Can I still travel to WA?
The WA Premier Mark McGowan has recommended that other states and territories put a stop to travel into WA.
How did the patient contract COVID-19?
A security guard in his 20s was working at the Sheraton Four Points hotel which is one of the locations where international travellers are being quarantined.
The State Government said he was working on the same floor where there are positive cases of the highly transmissible UK variant of the virus.
The Premier said it was possible he had caught this variant.
The guard worked two 12 hour shifts on both the 26th and 27th of January.
Before this, on January 15, 17 and 23 he tested negative to the virus as part of routine testing of hotel quarantine workers.
Exactly how he caught the infection is under investigation.