COVID in WA: Shires of Waroona and Harvey give message to community as State sees easing of restrictions

Life is set to be “back to normal” with indoor mask mandates and gathering limits scrapped across the Shires of Harvey and Waroona as COVID restrictions were eased throughout the State. Almost 9000 new COVID cases and seven deaths were recorded on Thursday — the day before the restrictions were lifted — however Shire of Waroona president Mike Walmsley hopes residents have gone through “the worst of it”. “The only thing I’m a little weary of is there are still issues around the age care side of it,” he said. “We do have to get on with life, we have to learn to live with COVID as they say, and I’m just hoping that we don’t have to go back into masks again.” “I still know of businesses that are struggling . . . the hotels and restaurants I am sure they’ve all had a hard time, it will be nice to see people frequenting those businesses again.” Friday’s mandate change saw the removal of masks excluding hospitals, care homes, prisons and airports, as well as on public transport and in taxis and rideshare vehicles and for those aged 12 and over in high-risk settings. It also included the abolishment of the 2sqm rule and other capacity limits disappear for all business and venues, including restaurants, pubs and nightclubs, a decision Mr Walmsley said will hopefully bring an an “upswing” to some local businesses. “The socialisation side of it has been a bit sad, I’m sure that has had an impact on people not going out because it’s too much of a drama to wear your mask, ” he said. “Just that whole thing around the fear of catching it, we’ve got to get back in the habit of socialising.” Close contacts with no symptoms — including people living with COVID cases — will no longer be required to isolate for seven days, provided they undertake daily RATs, wear a mask while away from home and avoid high-risk places. Shire of Harvey president Paul Gillett provided a brief statement on the eased restrictions. “We (The Shire of Harvey) are following State Government mandates as issued by the State Health Department and these are applied to our workforce, facilities, and operations,” he said. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson declared it was “time to start living with COVID” and thanked “each and every Western Australian” for “doing their bit since the start of the pandemic”. “They are thanks to our very high vaccination rates, well-timed and targeted public health and social measures, and the dedication of our healthcare workers.” Residents will no longer need to show proof of vaccination to dine out or go to the pub, but the jab mandate covering more than one million workers — including hospitality staff who will serve unvaccinated customers — remains indefinitely. Interstate border controls are also set to be dismantled as travellers from the Eastern States no longer need to apply for a G2G Pass or be triple-dose vaccinated, which will free another 50 police officers for frontline duties. Under the new “baseline settings”, unvaccinated international arrivals will continue to serve seven days in quarantine, unlike in other States such as NSW which were set to remove that requirement from the end of April.