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Coronavirus WA: Premier Mark McGowan confident there are no undetected cases of community transmission

Briana FioreThe West Australian
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Premier Mark McGowan says WA is on track to see eased restrictions at midnight.
Camera IconPremier Mark McGowan says WA is on track to see eased restrictions at midnight. Credit: Iain Gillespie/The West Australian

Premier Mark McGowan says he is very confident there is no evidence of community transmission in WA, revealing there have been no new cases overnight.

Speaking at a press conference Friday afternoon, Mr McGowan said WA was on track to see eased restrictions at midnight tonight, as expected.

Under the new rules, masks will no longer be mandatory for people in Perth and Peel unless they are travelling on public transport or attending events with more than 1000 people.

Mr McGowan also said he was “pleased” to hear NSW had also recorded zero new cases. He said he would continue to offer assistance to NSW after the State’s mystery case of community transmission.

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Mr McGowan also talked about potentially reducing the density of people isolating in hotel quarantine, adding there was “no easy solution” to accommodating for international arrivals.

“We have to do it safely. We’ve gone far more conservative,” he said.

Mr McGowan said he had been asked by the Prime Minister to take arrivals from India.

The Premier said he would work to bring in people from the COVID-ravaged country, but stated the number would not exceed the weekly cap of 530 arrivals.

He also hit back at critics who claimed WA was not taking its fair share of international arrivals and again criticised people leaving Australia for high-risk countries.

“What I don't like is just leaving the country to go to conferences of courses or for any other reason that isn't necessary,” he said.

The Premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan.
Camera IconThe Premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The West Australian

He said there was a “huge growth” in people getting vaccinated within the hotel quarantine system.

Mr McGowan was today joined by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti who apologised for the delays to Perth’s mammoth Metronet project.

She said she wanted to be “up front” and blamed COVID-19 for the delays.

Mrs Saffioti said she was “disappointed” about the progress, but had to be “realistic” about the “challenging project”.

She likened the delay to the Perth Children’s Hospital project.

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