Major new restrictions for thousands of Australians as Mark McGowan vows to drive down record 65 infections – as it’s revealed they’ve nearly ALL come from interstate
Mark McGowan has vowed to keep Omicron at bay after Western Australia detected a record 65 infections by introducing tough new restrictions to impact thousands.
Following the easing of travel restrictions over the weekend WA has seen an uptick in daily caseloads, with almost all new infections arriving from interstate.
Of the 65 new cases recorded on Tuesday, just 13 were locally acquired, with the source of three remaining mystery cases not linked to close contacts.
WA Premier Mark McGowan (pictured) has vowed to keep Omicron at bay after Western Australia detected a record 65 infections on Tuesday – almost all of which are from interstate
Mr McGowan’s government has announced elective surgeries will be paused for six to eight weeks to alleviate pressure on the state’s hospital system.
Experts predict Omicron cases in WA will peak at the end of this month, with no new bookings for category two or three surgeries to be approved past February 28.
Category one surgeries and procedures already booked will still be going ahead.
The premier said it had been an ‘operational’ decision to pause elective surgeries and would ensure the system would cope with growing caseloads.
‘As cases grow, hospital systems around Australia unwind elective surgeries so you can cope with people going to hospital,’ he told reporters.
‘Winding back some elective surgery, not all, is an important part of making sure our health system has the capacity to deal with people as the case numbers grow.
‘It’s what every state in Australia has done, I expect every hospital system around the world has done.’
Of the 65 new cases recorded on Tuesday, just 13 were locally acquired, with the source of three remaining mystery cases not linked to close contacts (pictured, women in Perth)
Of Tuesday’s 52 travel-related cases, 41 were from interstate and 11 arrived from overseas, after thousands made use of eased border restrictions over the weekend.
It’s estimated about 15,000 interstate travellers arrived between Saturday and Monday after those with a family connection were welcomed into the state.
New arrivals will first spend a week isolating and are required to undergo a Covid test within 24 hours of touching down in WA.
The record number of cases on Tuesday brings the state’s total number of active infections to 306 – of which only one is receiving care in hospital.
More to come.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk