WA Premier Mark McGowan has given the first real concession on the state’s hard border in some time, announcing that the door will be ever-so-slightly re-opened to certain people travelling from Victoria and New South Wales.
From Monday October 5 onwards, exempt travellers from Victoria and New South Wales will once again be allowed to enter Western Australia, subject to quarantine requirements.
Victorians will also not have to engage in mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine at their expense, and will instead be permitted to ride out the quarantine period at a “suitable premises.” That includes a house or apartment or other private dwelling.
Meanwhile, restrictions on exempt travellers from New South Wales are being brought into line with people from every other state and territory.
Previously, people who had been in Victoria and NSW in the 14 days prior to travelling to WA were not permitted into WA (unless they were performing duties for the Commonwealth Government or were, indeed, the Premier himself).
This very slight easing of restrictions is the first real roll back of the WA hard border, which has been in place since April 5th and has proven to be wildly popular with the state’s rather unique voting base.
The bad news for homesick WA residents stuck on the East Coast is that strict travel exemptions still apply to the WA border, and prevent most people from simply flinging themselves off to Perth. Outside of essential workers such as those providing critical health care or supply chain services, those people keen to go to WA need to apply for an exemption under broadly defined compassionate grounds.
Nonetheless the concession is the first sign that there is some light at the end of the very long tunnel as far as interstate travel to and from WA is concerned. Though McGowan was at pains to stress that the state is in no particular rush on that front.
“The results show these measures were highly successful in reducing the numbers of potential cases into Western Australia and protecting West Australians. We have now gone 171 days without community transmission in Western Australia. There is no need to unnecessarily rush and make decisions that put our state at risk,” he stated.
The 14-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases in Victoria is down to 18.2, while regional Victoria is at just 0.6. NSW meanwhile recorded only 2 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, both in returned overseas travellers.
