Western Australia has announced 25 new local cases of COVID-19 on the day the state planned to remove its hard border.
Key points:
- New, slightly relaxed border rules come into effect in WA today
- It means more families can reunite on compassionate grounds
- But many others still do not qualify and are calling for this to change
All but four of those cases have been linked to current outbreaks, while the sources of the other infections are still under investigation.
New COVID-19 rules came into effect today, allowing more people to enter the state on compassionate grounds.
About 6,000 travellers are expected to arrive in WA today, with the vast majority arriving from interstate.
They will have to spend two weeks in home quarantine.
But many families do not qualify and remain separated from loved ones interstate and overseas.
Dozens of people attended a rally on a Perth beach in support of a group called Parents are Immediate Family.
Border rules ‘utterly heartless and cruel’: MP
Local MP David Honey spoke in support of the protesters.
“These people are among the 30 per cent of West Australians who come from overseas and effectively they haven’t been able to see their families for over two years,” he said.
“Here we are on this momentous day, the 5th of February … the day that [Premier] Mark McGowan promised the people of WA he was going to open the borders, that the state was ready, the hospitals were ready.”
Doctor Honey said protesters told him stories about parents overseas who sold their houses and had visas to travel to Australia approved before having the rug pulled out from under them.
“What the Premier is doing, I think, is utterly heartless and cruel,” he said.
Michelle Striepe has been an Australian temporary resident for 15 years.
She said her mother died overseas in 2020 and she had not been able to return home since.
Her father has an airline ticket for March 31 and, although she is hoping for the best, she is concerned he will not be allowed into WA.
“I realise we want to keep people safe, but I think it’s about recognising the mental health and the wellbeing of people who need to see their families, who need to be reconnected … and need to hug their loved ones,” she said.
Ms Striepe said she believed the tools available to health authorities at this stage of the pandemic were enough to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Test isolation payment available
Meanwhile, Mr McGowan has announced West Australians can now apply for a $320 test isolation payment if they lose, or have lost, income while isolating and awaiting the results of a COVID-19 PCR test.
The Premier said the payment would also be available to parents, guardians and carers who had lost income because someone they cared for had been directed to isolate while waiting for test result.
Payment eligibility will be backdated to December 23, 2021.
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