04/02/2021
As you know, the short-sharp lockdown of Perth, Peel and the South West is due to end tomorrow evening at 6pm.
As of 8pm tonight, I can confirm that we have recorded no new local cases of COVID-19. This is a remarkable achievement, and the credit belongs to each and every Western Australian.
The short five-day lockdown has done the job it was designed to do – to reassure us that we don’t have community spread of the virus.
Provided that we continue to have no new local cases tomorrow, that lockdown will end at 6pm.
But as we have flagged, some restrictions will need to remain until we can be absolutely sure that our community is COVID-free.
Tonight I can outline to you what that transitional phase will look like for our State.
Pending ongoing testing results and expert health advice, lockdown restrictions for Perth, Peel and the South-West will be lifted at 6:00pm tomorrow evening (Friday 5 February).
Following that, stay-at-home rules will be lifted - and interim restrictions will apply to Perth and Peel.
The South West will immediately return to pre-lockdown conditions at 6pm tomorrow (Friday 5 February).
A post-lockdown transition period for the Perth and Peel regions to keep WA safe and resume a more COVID-safe way of life will remain in place until 12.01am Sunday morning, 14 February – allowing for the full 14-day incubation period to run its course.
All Western Australians must continue to practise physical distancing where possible and maintain good personal hygiene at all times.
The post lockdown transitional measures for the Perth and Peel regions, include the following measures:
- Everyone must continue to wear a mask in public and while at work, unless exempt or for outdoor vigorous exercise
- All business and venues can reopen, except for the casino and nightclubs
- 4 square metre capacity rule in place for most venues
- 150-person capacity – excluding staff – at hospitality, entertainment and venues and events including weddings and funerals at these venues
- Community sport can start, and involve up to 150 people including players, officials and spectators.
- Seated service only at hospitality venues
- Dancing only permitted at weddings and dance studios
- 20-person limit for private indoor and outdoor gatherings
- Visits to aged care and disability care facilities restricted to compassionate grounds
- Residential school and boarding facilities can resume with a COVID Safety Plan
- Only essential travel is permitted in and out of the Perth and Peel regions to other parts of WA.
Under the post-lockdown transition measures, Perth and Peel schools will start from Monday, 8 February, with the mandatory mask rule applying to all school staff and secondary students. Masks are not required for primary school students.
Masks are also mandatory for staff at childcare facilities as well as students and staff in higher education, including TAFEs and universities.
Teaching staff are permitted to remove their mask if teaching at the front of the classroom to enable clear enunciation.
People who need to leave the Perth and Peel region for essential purposes must wear a mask at all times in other regions of WA, as per the rules in place in Perth and Peel.
Elective surgery at WA public hospitals will resume once the lockdown has ended and people will be contacted directly to re-schedule and re-book their appointments which were suspended due to the five-day lockdown.
FIFO workers will once again be able to leave the Perth and Peel regions, but documentation will be required and they must follow strict health protocols.
COVID-safe measures including the use of contact registers and SafeWA will continue to be crucial as part of post-lockdown life.
Currently, the onus is on businesses to ensure a contact register is available for patrons.
But from 6pm tomorrow the responsibility will be shared – individuals will now also face penalties if they fail to scan in using either SafeWA or the contact register available. As always, authorities will apply a common-sense approach.
For more information on our post-lockdown plans visit www.wa.gov.au.
This is an important step for our State, and one which we are only able to take because Western Australians have overwhelmingly done the right thing under extremely challenging circumstances.
This week we have seen the absolute best of WA. The community united behind one another, followed the rules, got tested and gave us confidence to move to this transitional stage.
But this has been an extremely disruptive week, and I expect the next 24 hours and the following week will still be challenging for many people.
I encourage everyone to support local businesses as much as they can - it will go a long way to help them recover from the events of the past week.
I wish we could just snap back immediately to the life we had last week - but doing so would be too risky. It would be irresponsible.
All things going well, and if we continue to see good results from our COVID testing, this phase will last for less than nine days.
But to make sure that happens, I do need to ask one more thing:
If you are unwell, if you have any symptoms – please go get tested.
And obviously, if you have been to any of the exposure sites, you need to get tested. And even if you have received a negative result, get tested again if symptoms develop.
I cannot stress this enough.
I know this week has been tough.
But we live in the best country in the world – and the best State in the country.
And we will get through this.
Thank you.
