Western Australia won’t reopen its borders until 90 per cent of the state’s population is fully vaccinated.
Even then travellers will have to abide by strict rules, WA Premier Mark McGowan confirmed.
Mr McGowan finally unveiled the state’s roadmap out of the Covid-19 pandemic on Friday – becoming the last state in the country to do so.
Under the uber-cautious plan, interstate and international travellers will remain banned from entry until late January or early February.
All arrivals will have to be fully vaccinated. They will have to receive a negative Covid test result 72 hours before boarding a plane to WA.
Then within 48 hours of entering, visitors will have to receive a second negative test result.
Foreign visitors won’t have to quarantine if fully unvaccinated. Unvaccinated arrivals will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine.
A transition date will be locked in once WA finally hits the 80 per cent double dose target, expected sometime in December.
Just 63.7 per cent of the state’s population aged over-12 are fully vaccinated, according to government figures.
Mr McGowan hailed the Safe Transition Plan as a ‘world first’ and unique which reinforces his government’s careful and cautious approach to avoid unnecessary risks.
‘What’s unique about our plan is that it’s intended for border controls to ease at a point where there is no community transmission in Western Australia, combined with very, very high levels of vaccination,’ he said.
‘This puts us in the best possible position to transition with minimal impact on our health, our economy, and our way of life.’
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan (pictured) refuses to reopen the state’s borders until 90 per cent of the state’s population is fully vaccinated.
All interstate and international visitors must return a negative Covid test before departure and get tested again when they enter Western Australia.
He acknowledged there will be public backlash over the plan that will leave thousands of families torn apart for a second consecutive Christmas.
‘I acknowledge some people will be frustrated. They may not be able to be reunited with family from New South Wales or Victoria over Christmas,’ Mr McGowan said.
‘But as difficult as it is, it is for the right reasons.’
A host of public health and social measures will also be tightened and may become even stricter, based on the last health advice.
Face masks will remain mandatory in high risk indoor settings such as hospitals, aged care and on public transport.
Patrons who want to attend a nightclub, casino or large event will only be granted entry if they’re doubled jabbed.
Entry to remote Indigenous communities will remain restricted and contact registers will still be used.
A host of public health and social measures will also be tightened when WA’s borders reopen. Pictured are cafe diners in Bunbury
‘Once we set that date, it will be locked in,’ Mr McGowan said.
‘But if we don’t, on that date, reach the 90 per cent double-dose vaccination, that means there will be further public health social measures put in place.
‘That would mean restrictions on venues, on workplaces, restrictions when it comes to masks, all those sorts of things that we’re desperately trying to avoid.’
Mr McGowan said the government would soon release health department modelling that showed there would be a significant reduction in cases, hospitalisations and deaths as a result of reopening at 90 per cent vaccination.
‘The difference in easing border controls at 90 per cent rather than 80 per cent is 200 West Australian lives are saved,’ he said.
‘The differences are stark. They cannot be ignored, nor can the benefits.’
The government has not ruled out restricting travel between regions should vaccination rates be insufficient outside the metropolitan area.
‘Cutting off the Pilbara or any region, for that matter, is not something I want to do,’ Mr McGowan said.
‘But if that’s what is required to protect the local community and local industries, then we will take that step based on the health advice at the time.
‘The sooner you get vaccinated, the sooner the safe transition plan can kick in.’
The premier rejected criticism that WA was acting against the national reopening plan, saying NSW and Victoria had ‘ignored every agreement’.
‘They’ve opened up internationally when the agreement was that that wouldn’t happen,’ he said.
‘We don’t have community spread, we don’t have scores of people dying … I’m not going to adhere to some set of rules that’s going to result in 200 people dying.’