Based on the latest health advice, Level 1 public health and social measures will apply to the Kimberley region from 6am tomorrow – Saturday February 26 and be expanded to all remaining regions from 6am Monday February 28.
Level 1 public health measures were first introduced for Perth, Peel, South-West, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Pilbara regions on Monday February 21 to help manage the surge of Omicron cases and community transmission in these regions, and keep Western Australians safe.
With Omicron spreading across the State, these measures will now be expanded to include the Kimberley region from 6am tomorrow (February 26) and from 6am Monday February 28 to the Gascoyne, Mid-West and Goldfields-Esperance regions.
In addition to the existing indoor mask requirements, proof of vaccination, contact registration and restrictions to remote Aboriginal communities, Level 1 measures also include:
- home gatherings limited to a total of 30 people, including household members;
- private outdoor gatherings limited to a total of 200 people, and if outdoors at a private residence, the two square metre rule applies for outdoor space with a maximum of 30 people inside the private residence at any one time;
- two square metre rule introduced for hospitality, fitness venues, entertainment venues, cultural venues, places of worship, hairdressers and beauty services
- 75 per cent capacity for seated entertainment venues (forward facing), such as theatres and cinemas;
- 75 per cent capacity for major stadia, such as Optus Stadium, RAC Arena, HBF Stadium (main area) and HBF Park;
- two square metre rule for Perth Crown Complex and seated service only on the casino gaming floor;
- 500-person capacity limit at nightclubs, in addition to the two square metre rule;
- visitation at residential aged care and disability care facilities, and hospitals limited to four visitors per patient/resident per day, exemptions for compassionate reasons;
- COVID Event Checklists required for events with more than 500 patrons and less than 1,000 patrons and COVID Event Plans required for large events with 1,000 patrons and above;
- COVID Safety Plans to be expanded to early childhood education and childcare services, hairdressers and barbers, and encouraged for all workplaces; and
- workplaces should implement COVID-19 safe settings to manage workforce impacts.
Further public health and social measures (Level 2) may be introduced in the future to help reduce increasing transmission of COVID-19 and hospitalisations, if necessary.
Level 2 may include measures such as mask wearing expanded to those in Year 3 and above, working from home advised for vulnerable people, Rapid Antigen Testing for visitors at residential aged care and disability facilities, home gatherings reduced to a total of 10 people, and the four square metre rule indoors and two square metre outdoors for hospitality, fitness venues, indoor entertainment venues, galleries and museums, places of worship, hairdressers and beauty services.
For more information on public health and social measures, please visit www.wa.gov.au
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“My priority is to keep WA safe, and to do that we need to respond to the growing Omicron situation in our State.
“Omicron is now spreading through regional WA, so it’s necessary that we expand Level 1 public health and social measures.
“Introducing public health measures is not something we want to do but it is vital to minimising the impact of Omicron on regional communities.
“These new measures will be unusual for many regions that have for the most part have been largely untouched by these type of measures, but I ask everyone to do the right thing and follow the health advice.
“While the next few weeks and months may be difficult, WA is in the best possible position to see through this Omicron outbreak.
“We know our best defence is vaccination – so please ‘roll up’ for WA, high vaccination rates will enable us to safely go out and continue socialising with friends and family.
“Third doses are particularly important to protect yourself against Omicron, so if you haven’t yet already had yours, please get your third dose as soon as possible.”
As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
“We are now seeing Omicron cases in our regions start to grow and it is important we act quickly to protect those communities.
“If you are feeling unwell or have been identified as a close contact, it is crucial that you get tested, either by visiting a PCR clinic or by taking a Rapid Antigen Test.
“It is also more important than ever to get vaccinated, including your third dose when you are due.
“Restrictions on entry to Aboriginal communities have been in place for some time and we are now seeing firsthand just how important this is. Thank you to all those who continue to do the right thing.”
