Wear a face mask or cop a $50,000 fine: Western Australia announces an EXTRAORDINARY new Covid measure to stop mutant strain jumping its border
- Last week state and territory leaders enforced mandatory masks on all flights
- WA Premier Mark McGowan further tightened measures for his state’s airports
- Masks must be worn not only on planes, but inside every airport across WA
Anyone caught not wearing a mask at airports in Western Australia will now cop a fine of up to $50,000 as part of drastic measures to stop a mutant strain of Covid from reaching the state.
Last week state and territory leaders agreed to enforce mandatory masks on all flights across Australia.
WA Premier Mark McGowan further tightened measures for his state, announcing masks must be worn not only on planes, but inside every airport across WA.
Anyone caught not wearing a mask at airports in Western Australia will now cop a $50,000 fine
The new measures were introduced to stop the spread of a mutant strain of Covid which plunged the UK into a third lockdown
WA Premier Mark McGowan further tightened measures for the state, announcing masks must be worn not only on planes, but inside every airport across WA
The new measures were introduced to stop the spread of a mutant strain of Covid which plunged the UK into a third lockdown.
A cleaner at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane tested positive to the highly-contagious strain of the virus last week.
Despite the risk of fines coming into effect on Wednesday, dozens of passengers not were seen inside Perth Airport without masks on, The West Australian reports.
The new rules apply to anyone over the age of 12, although people are allowed to take their masks off to eat, drink or take medication as long as they are sitting down.
Masks don’t have to be worn when interacting with someone who is deaf or ‘where visibility of mouth is essential for communication.’
People who work alone in offices, or are sole occupants of vehicles within airports are also exempt.
Meanwhile, WA Health Minister Roger Cook has defended the state’s Covid rules after a Queensland woman was denied the chance to see her dying mother in Perth because of restrictions that came into effect while she was mid-air.
WA on Friday reintroduced a hard border for all of Queensland after a highly contagious UK coronavirus strain was detected in Greater Brisbane.
All passengers arriving on flights from Queensland before the midnight deadline were required to enter 14 days of self-isolation.
Sydney radio station 2GB has reported that one passenger, a woman identified as Jackie, had made an emergency flight from Brisbane to Perth that day to visit her dying mother.
The restrictions came into effect during Jackie’s flight and she was held in a room at Perth Airport, reportedly without food or water, for seven hours upon landing.
The new rules apply to anyone over the age of 12, although people are allowed to take their masks off to eat, drink or take medication as long as they are sitting down
Masks don’t have to be worn when interacting with someone who is deaf or ‘where visibility of mouth is essential for communication’
Her mother died during that time.
Health Minister Roger Cook described it as a very sad story, adding that he had been briefed by WA Police who said they had not been aware of Jackie’s situation.
‘The situation in Queensland was we had a potential outbreak of the new UK strain of the disease, we didn’t know how that was going to behave,’ he told Perth radio 6PR on Wednesday.
‘We needed to move quickly and decisively, and we’ve done this on a number of occasions in order to make sure that we get on top of any potential risks to Western Australia from the disease.
‘We obviously regret any inconvenience, or in this case the distressing situation that Jackie finds herself in.’