Mark McGowan has slammed his border shut to another jurisdiction over Omicron fears in a fresh blow before Christmas.
Mark McGowan will slam WA’s border shut to Queenslanders as the sunshine state reopens to the rest of the nation.
From Monday, Queenslanders looking to visit WA will have to quarantine for two weeks after the government elevated the risk level to the state.
To enter WA, individuals must be fully vaccinated, present for a Covid test on arrival and on day 12, and can quarantine for 14 days.
The move is a result of Queensland’s plan to relax quarantine requirements.
In a statement, the Premier said the heightened risk level was necessary due to the mystery cases in Queensland.
“With community spread now being experienced in Queensland and its expected move to relax border controls and quarantine arrangements with Covid-positive jurisdictions, in the midst of Omicron, we need to take caution and strengthen our border controls with Queensland,” he said.
“This will inconvenience people, however we know border controls work to keep WA safe and they’re effective in managing the risks of Covid-19 entering the community, while we don’t yet have sufficient levels of vaccination coverage.
“As I’ve said, in coming days we expect to reach our 80 per cent double dose vaccination rate which means we can review the situation and confidently lock in a future date to proceed with our Safe Transition Plan next year.”
Health Minister Roger Cook said Queensland’s softening border will mean they are at greater risk of Omicron spread.
“Travellers from Covid-positive jurisdictions will be able to enter Queensland from Monday without a requirement to undertake a period of quarantine. This is likely to lead to increased community spread of the Omicron variant,” he said.
“We have seen community case numbers increase in recent days across Australia.
“Western Australia does not have any Covid in our community and we want to keep it that way until we have better vaccination coverage.”
