29 August 2021

COVID-19 update 29 August 2021

WA Health has no new reported cases of COVID-19 cases overnight.

The State’s total now stands at 1086. To date, 1051 people have recovered from the virus in WA.

Two NSW truck drivers reported as positive cases on Friday 27 August remain in hotel quarantine. They will be counted in the New South Wales totals, as that is where they were tested.

Twenty-three contacts of the two truck drivers have now been identified from exposure sites within WA (seven close contacts and 16 casual contacts), have been tested and all are now in quarantine.

All seven close contacts have returned a negative result. Fifteen of the 16 casual contacts have now returned a negative result, with one result pending.

WA Health is now monitoring 28 active COVID-19 cases, comprising eight in hotel quarantine (six cases diagnosed in WA and two cases diagnosed in NSW); and 20 cases are crew members on the MV Ken Hou vessel. The vessel will remain berthed at Fremantle Port with all positive crew members remaining on-board and their health status monitored daily.

A list of exposure sites (external site) related to the NSW truck drivers has been published on the HealthyWA website. Please continue to check the site in case more exposure sites are added.

Anyone who visited these sites at the specified times and dates must:

  • quarantine immediately for 14 days and get tested on days two and 12
  • contact 13 COVID (13 26843).

Regional testing is available at:

  • Norseman Hospital – 8am to 6pm
  • Southern Cross – 24/7 – phone ahead on 9081 2222
  • Kalgoorlie Health Campus, 8am to 6pm.

Metropolitan testing locations are available on HealthyWA.

Testing clinics

Yesterday, 794 people were swabbed at State-run clinics. A list of all testing clinics is available on the HealthyWA website.

Vaccination

For the latest WA vaccination figures, visit the COVID-19 Coronavirus: Vaccination dashboard (external site)**.

Donations to Afghan evacuees

The State Government is continuing to work with its community sector partners to support evacuees from Afghanistan who have recently arrived in Perth.

While many members of the Western Australian community are keen to show their support through the donation of goods and food, these donations are not needed at this time and will not be accepted at quarantine hotels.

There are strict COVID safety restrictions at WA hotel quarantine facilities and it is important that people do not visit these locations, especially during quarantine periods.

The best way to can help is to make a financial donation through the Australian Red Cross Afghanistan Crisis Appeal (external site).

Border controls

New Zealand

In line with all other Australian jurisdictions, travel from New Zealand will now be treated as travel from an international location. Approved travellers are required to enter 14 days of hotel quarantine.

New South Wales

Based on the latest health advice, New South Wales has been elevated to the extreme risk (external site) category. This means travel from New South Wales to Western Australia is not permitted, except for:

  • Commonwealth and State officials
  • Members of Parliament
  • diplomats
  • specialist or extraordinary circumstances determined by the State Emergency Coordinator or the Chief Health Officer.

Travellers approved under specialist or extraordinary circumstances are subject to the following conditions, unless otherwise advised. They must:

  • undertake mandatory hotel quarantine at a State quarantine facility for 14 days at their own expense.
  • get tested for COVID-19 on days one, five and 13.
  • return a negative COVID-19 PCR test in 72 hours.
  • have receipt of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, if eligible.

Under the extreme risk setting, if a Western Australian returning from overseas falls into one of the above categories, is approved to enter WA and has completed 14 days of supervised quarantine in NSW – they will also be required to undergo 14 days of self-quarantine in a suitable premises in WA.

Queensland and South Australia

Based on the latest health advice, Queensland has been transitioned to a low risk category (external site) while South Australia has been assessed as very low risk (external site).

Other States

The Australian Capital Territory and Victoria are at medium risk (external site). Tasmania and the Northern Territory are considered very low risk (external site).

Variants

To date, 149 cases of variant strains have been detected in Western Australia – including 53 Alpha strain, 15 Beta strain, one Gamma strain and 80 Delta strain.

Visit WA Health’s HealthyWA website for the latest information on COVID-19. 

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* Historic vaccine doses are vaccinations that were administered up to 10 days before the current date but were recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register since the last report.

** WA vaccination data for the WA COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard is sourced from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). AIR is a national register maintained by the Australian Government that records all vaccines given to all people in Australia. WA data includes all COVID-19 vaccinations in WA, whether administered by WA Health, Australian Government providers or other providers (including GPs). WA previously reported only WA Health data. Note that the dashboard does not update until after 2pm Monday to Friday. A vaccine dashboard data interpretation guide (external site) is also available to help you.

**Cumulative testing and daily vaccination data will be reported tomorrow (Monday).