WA Health has reported one new COVID-19 case in Western Australia up until 8pm last night.
The new case is a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine.
There are also two new cases, people in their 30s, who arrived on flight VA470 from Brisbane on 19 December; and are currently in self-quarantine. These cases will be reported in tomorrow’s numbers.
Four close household contacts of the arrivals from Brisbane have been tested for COVID-19 and have tested negative. A further contact is awaiting a test result. Other contacts are being identified by public health officials. See below information for exposure sites.
Other passengers from the flight must comply with existing quarantine arrangements as per WA’s border with QLD; and get tested under these requirements. These people should monitor for symptoms.
As of 8pm last night, the State’s total stands at 1126, 1114 people have recovered from the virus, and WA is monitoring a total of three active cases in hotel quarantine.
WA is monitoring a total of five active cases in hotel quarantine.
Exposure sites
At this stage, two exposure sites (external site) in the Perth metropolitan area related to the two arrivals from Brisbane have been published on the HealthyWA website. Please continue to check the site in case more exposure sites are added.
Anyone who visited these sites at the specified times and dates must:
- monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested and self-isolate if they have symptoms.
Truck drivers
All 178 contacts related to the interstate truck drivers, who were potentially infectious in WA have returned a negative result.
To date, 167 casual contacts and 11 close contacts have been identified (who are still in WA). So far 117 contacts have tested negative, one test results are pending. Of the close contacts, all have returned a tested negative.
Border controls
Based on the latest health advice, border controls with Queensland and Tasmania have been strengthened from 12.01am yesterday (Monday, December 20).
Queensland update
WA has transitioned its border arrangements with Queensland from ‘Low’ risk to ‘Medium’ risk. Travel from Queensland will not be permitted, unless a person is an approved traveller.
Tasmania update
Border controls with Tasmania has transitioned from 'very low risk' to 'low risk'. The elevation is part of a cautious approach as Tasmania now has relaxed border and quarantine requirements with COVID-positive jurisdictions.
NSW update
Based on the latest health advice, WA transitioned its border arrangement with New South Wales from ‘High’ risk to an ‘Extreme’ risk category on Saturday, 18 December 2021.
Information about Western Australia’s controlled border arrangements, conditions of entry and quarantine is available online.
COVID-19 vaccinations*
Since vaccination numbers were reported yesterday, 18,477 COVID-19 vaccine doses were recorded in WA, 14,563 of these were second doses. The total includes 10,767 historic COVID-19 vaccine doses*. These figures represent COVID-19 vaccinations at State-run clinics and doses given as part of the Commonwealth rollout**.
People are reminded that it is more important now than ever for everyone who has received their second dose of the COVID-19 five or more months ago to get their booster vaccination now without delay to ensure they have maximum protection again COVID-19. Do not wait till it is too late, act now and get vaccinated.
For the latest WA vaccination figures, visit the COVID-19 Coronavirus: Vaccination dashboard (external site)**.
Testing clinics
Yesterday, 800 people were swabbed at State-run clinics.* A list of all testing clinics is available on the HealthyWA website.
Mandatory vaccination information
A mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for a majority of occupations and workforces in WA is being introduced in a phased approach. For more information on getting your COVID-19 vaccine, visit: https://rollup.wa.gov.au/
Variants
To date, 195 cases of variant strains have been detected in Western Australia – including two Omicron strain, 53 Alpha strain, 15 Beta strain, one Gamma strain and 117 Delta strain.
Visit WA Health’s HealthyWA website for the latest information on COVID-19.
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** WA vaccination data for the WA COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard is sourced from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). AIR is a national register maintained by the Australian Government that records all vaccines given to all people in Australia. WA data includes all COVID-19 vaccinations in WA, whether administered by WA Health, Australian Government providers or other providers (including GPs). WA previously reported only WA Health data. Note that the dashboard does not update until after 2pm Monday to Friday.
A vaccine dashboard data interpretation guide (external site) is also available to help you.