Grab your melatonin gummies and sleeping mask to prep for that five hour flight, ‘cos Western Australia’s borders are opening back up baby!
Yep, that’s right, you can finally give your mate who lives in Perth a big ‘ol juicy cuddle.
Premier Mark McGowan made an announcement on Friday night where he confirmed that WA’s borders would reopen on March 3.
The WA borders were originally scheduled to open back on February 5. The reopening was then delayed indefinitely because of that pesky little bitch Omicron.
On Friday, WA recorded 194 new local cases and it currently has over 700 active cases.
“March 3 will be a step forward for Western Australia, a safe step forward, taken at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons,” Mark McGowan said, as per the ABC.
“There comes a point where the border is redundant because we’ll already have the growth of cases here, having the border is no longer effective.”
95.3% of the 16+ WA population is double-vaccinated and the government is encouraging everyone to get boosted as soon as they’re eligible.
55.3% of the 16+ population is triple-vaxxed which is, as we know, the hottest way to be.
This is our WA COVID-19 update for Friday, 18 February 2022.
For official information on COVID-19 in WA, visit https://t.co/gIGAhoXMnm https://t.co/o2z4UsC9Vi pic.twitter.com/P0WkUuU5my— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) February 18, 2022
There are a couple of important guidelines for interstate travellers, so minimise that Skyscanner Chrome window for a hot sec and read on.
To enter WA, you’ll need to be triple-vaxxed. If you haven’t booked your booster, get on it babes! It’s the only way to go spot quokkas at Rottnest Island, chill with the Monkey Mia dolphins and sink sav blancs at Margaret River, which is what I’m led to believe they do in WA.
You also have to fill in a G2G pass online before you travel. When you touch down, you need to take a RAT within 12 hours. The RATs will be provided by the government (so don’t stress if you can’t fit one in your carry on).
If it’s positive, you’ll obviously need to report it.
Today we announced the new date for WA’s full border opening – and it’s worth talking through how we got here.
Four weeks ago, on January 20, we took the difficult decision to delay Western Australia’s full border opening. pic.twitter.com/zEpV2tQRoR
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) February 18, 2022
Finally, you’ll need to follow public health measures and use the SafeWA or ServiceWA apps. Nothing brings me greater joy than comparing and contrasting the different states’ COVID-19 apps. The mySA Gov app can choke, but ServiceNSW? A slay.
As well as borders opening, the WA government also announced some changes to restrictions.
From 6am on Monday, an indoor mask mandate’ll be introduced across the entire state. Masks have been mandatory in Perth and Peel since Jan 16. After your book your trip, make sure to bring a lovely collection of masks to complement your different ‘fits.
There are two metre square capacity limits for hospo and entertainment venues, nightclubs, gyms, hairdressers, beauty services, places of worship and cultural venues.
McGowan also confirmed that dancing and standing consumption are both allowed, so you can safely throw some shapes.
Home gatherings have a limit of 30 people and private outdoor events have a limit of 200 people. Clubs also have a crowd cap of 500, while stadiums, theatres and cinemas are operating at 75% capacity.
Go on, take your Perth mates to a showing of The Batman and ogle at Robert Pattinson in his true goth era. The perfect (or should I say Perth-ect?) way to celebrate seeing each other again.
