Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has finally, at long last, revealed the state’s borders will re-open to travellers from Victoria and New South Wales from December 8th onwards, giving families the opportunity to reunite just in time for Christmas.
McGowan confirmed a short time ago that, as of 12:01am on the 8th, people entering Western Australia from NSW and Victoria will no longer have any quarantine requirements, and will be permitted to travel to and from the state as normal.
That leaves enforced restrictions Western Australia has with South Australia as the last remaining quarantine requirements for people crossing the WA border.
Those people entering Western Australia from either NSW or Victoria will be required to fill out a border pass prior to arrival, and will be subject to a brief health screening and potential random testing. However the self-isolation and home quarantine requirements will be scrapped. In a rather confusing and odd proviso, travellers entering WA must declare that they have not “knowingly mixed with anyone from South Australia” in the 14 days prior to arriving.
In announcing the measures, McGowan praised efforts in Victoria to eradicate instances of coronavirus from the community as “remarkable,” with the state now notching up 31 consecutive days without a new case being diagnosed. New South Wales, meanwhile, just clocked 28 straight days with no new infections from an unknown source.
The various restrictions that are currently in place with travellers from South Australia stand as the last remaining border restrictions standing in the way of a fully re-opened and reunited Australia.
The Western Australia premier addressed the media to confirm the new measures, stating “I’d like to acknowledge and thank everyone for their patience and understanding. It’s been a long wait. As a country, I’m so relieved we’ve gotten to this point. It’s a credit to all Australians that we are nearly at the point of eliminating the virus in the community.”
Both Queensland and Tasmania have fully re-opened their borders with Victoria and New South Wales in recent days, with airlines beginning a slow increase of fares as domestic air travel embarks on the path back to some semblance of normality.
