PREMIER Mark McGowan says the Perth, Peel and South-West five-day lockdown will end as planned at 6pm tomorrow, pending no further local cases.
In a statement the McGowan Government said a post-lockdown transition period for the Perth and Peel regions to keep Western Australia safe and help resume a more Covid-safe way of life would come into effect from 6pm on Friday and remain in place until 12.01am Sunday, February 14 – allowing for the full 14-day incubation period to run its course.
The South-West region will return to pre-lockdown conditions from 6pm Friday, February 5.
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:
- 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 re-open, except for the casino and nightclubs;
- 4sqm capacity rule and 150-person capacity at hospitality, entertainment, fitness venues and events including weddings, funerals (excluding staff);
- community sport can 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 and advocates;
- Residential school and boarding facilities can resume with a Covid safety plan; and
- Only essential travel, including work, 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, February 8, 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 when 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 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.
Pre-lockdown requirements for the entire state still remain in place, and include:
- Mandatory contact registers for most WA businesses and venues;
- Capacity restrictions for major venues;
- Restrictions on travel to remote Aboriginal communities; and
- WA’s controlled interstate border arrangements.
Covid-safe measures including the use of contact registers and SafeWA will continue to be crucial as part of post-lockdown life.
To date the onus has been on businesses to ensure a contact register is available for patrons.
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 https://www.wa.gov.au
