Perth COVID lockdown update: Premier announces restrictions after lockdown ends - 7NEWS.com.au

Perth will likely transition out of a week-long COVID lockdown after 6pm on Friday - but some restrictions will remain in place.

WA Premier Mark McGowan outlined the new details on what people can expect from Perth’s post-lockdown transition plan in a late-night press conference on Thursday.

Out of 191 close contacts of a hotel worker who returned a positive COVID test, 189 results have come back negative and two results are pending.

As of 8pm Thursday, no new local cases have been recorded.

If the number of local cases remains at zero on Friday, the lockdown will end at 6pm.

The post-lockdown restrictions listed below are expected to remain in place until 12.01am Sunday, February 14, allowing for a full 14-day incubation period.

From 6pm Friday, the south-west region will return to full pre-lockdown conditions, with no restrictions.

However, a number of restrictions will remain in place for metropolitan Perth and Peel.

If the number of local cases remains at zero on Friday February 5, the lockdown will end at 6pm. Credit: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/AAPIMAGE

At a glance

• Masks will remain mandatory outdoors and on public transport, but not during vigorous outdoor exercise.
• All businesses and venues will be able to reopen except for the casino and nightclubs.
• All schools should resume, starting from Monday, February 8.
• All students and staff at secondary schools will be required to wear a mask. Primary school students will not be required to wear a mask. Primary school staff will need to continue to wear a mask.
• Teaching staff at both primary and secondary schools are permitted to remove their mask while teaching in front of the classroom to help with clear communication and teaching.
• TAFE and universities should also reopen - and again, masks will be mandatory.
• From 6pm Friday there will be a 20-person limit in all homes and private indoor and outdoor gatherings.
• All public venues, including hospitality venues, entertainment venues, fitness venues and retail outlets, can reopen - except for the casino and nightclubs. The 4-square-metre capacity rule will be in place for this period only.
• There will be a 150-person capacity, excluding staff, at all hospitality, entertainment and fitness venues. This includes weddings and funerals.
• Community sport can start, and involve up to 150 people, including players, officials, and spectators.
• Restaurants, bars and pubs can reopen with the same rules, and only for seated service.
• Dancing is only permitted at weddings and dance studios.
• Visits to aged care and disability care facilities are restricted to compassionate grounds only.
• All elective surgery at WA public hospitals will resume once the lockdown has ended. The health department will contact those people directly who had appointments cancelled during the lockdown, so these appointments can be rescheduled.
• In terms of travel, only essential travel - such as work - is permitted in and out of the Perth and Peel regions to other parts of WA.
• FIFO workers will once again be able to leave the Perth and Peel regions, but documentation will be required, and they will need to follow strict health protocols.
• People who need to leave the Perth and Peel regions for essential purposes will need to wear a mask at all times in other regions of WA.

All businesses can re-open except the casino and nightclubs, but wearing masks outside will remain mandatory. Credit: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/AAPIMAGE

Addressing the five-day lockdown period and the upcoming restrictions, McGowan said he was grateful to West Australians for the sacrifices they had made.

“The short 5-day lockdown has done the job it was designed to do - to reassure us that we don’t have community spread of the virus in WA,” he said.

“I regret and apologise for any distress, loss or inconvenience the events of this week have caused.

“I know it’s been hard, and I wish it didn’t happen.

“It was a setback, after 10 months of no COVID-19 in our state.

“We had the kind of freedoms that other people across the country, and around the world, could only dream of.”

Hotel quarantine

Asked about the efficacy of the hotel quarantine system, McGowan said no hotel quarantine system was failsafe.

“Hotel quarantine will never be foolproof,” he said.

“This virus is nothing like we have seen before.

“But we will do everything we can to minimise the risk and to keep the state safe.”

For a full list of post-lockdown restrictions, click here.

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2021-02-04 12:52:00Z
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