08 September 2021

COVID-19 update 8 September 2021

WA Health is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 overnight.

The State’s total remains at 1087. To date, 1077 people have recovered from the virus in WA.

WA Health is monitoring one active COVID-19 case in hotel quarantine. All cases from the MV Ken Hou vessel have now been cleared and WA Health has declared the outbreak over. The ship is expected to soon move to anchorage where it will remain while the owners arrange for a crew change.

Two NSW truck drivers reported as positive cases on Friday, 27 August, have now been cleared. They were included in NSW statistics because they tested positive in that state.

The 25 contacts of the two truck drivers have each returned at least two negative test results and eight close contacts remain in home quarantine.

A list of exposure sites (external site) related to the NSW truck drivers is available on the HealthyWA website. 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 (13 268 43).

South Australia Health has also published a list of exposure sites (external link) after the two truck drivers 19 travelled through the state in recent days.

Returned travellers from South Australia are advised to get tested and self-quarantine for 14 days if they visited any of the exposure sites listed.

Anyone who has been at the South Australian sites at the specified times is required to:

  • self-quarantine at a suitable premises for 14 days from date of exposure
  • be tested within 48 hours and on day 12
  • wear a mask when transiting to a self-quarantine premises and presenting for COVID-19 testing. 

Testing locations are available on the HealthyWA website.

Testing clinics

Yesterday, 876 people were swabbed at State-run clinics. A list of all testing clinics is available on the HealthyWA website. To date, there have been 1,688,931 COVID-19 tests performed in WA. Of those, 199,575 were from regional WA.

Vaccination

Yesterday, 25,194 vaccine doses were recorded in WA, of which 13,195 were second doses. The total includes 4659 historic vaccine doses*. These figures represent vaccinations at State-run clinics and doses administered through the Commonwealth rollout**.

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

A new vaccination clinic in Midland (external site) is open 8.30am to 4.30pm seven days at Centrepoint Shopping Centre on Great Eastern Highway. The centre has four-hour free parking, is close to Midland Train Station and replaces the Redcliffe clinic.

Vaccination of healthcare workers (public system)

The most recent figures (5 September 2021) show that, out of 61,703 workers, 48,050 (77.8%) have had their first dose and 42,701 (69.2%) have had their second dose.

A further breakdown is provided at the end of this statement.

Donations to Afghan evacuees

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

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

Border controls

Truck drivers

From 12pm today (8 September), there is an extra test requirement for transport, freight and logistics drivers coming into WA from states with a high or extreme risk category.

Drivers who have been in these states in the prior 14 days are required to show proof of a COVID-19 test within the previous 72 hours. 

If drivers have not received their test result, they are required to undertake a rapid antigen test (RAT) at the WA border at Eucla or Kununurra and wait for a negative result before being granted entry.

If drivers receive a non-negative# RAT result, they will be directed to travel immediately to either Kununurra, Kalgoorlie or Esperance to undertake a PCR test and isolate until they receive a result.

Drivers who have not been in a high-risk or extreme risk jurisdiction in the previous 14 days remain subject to the seven-day testing protocol. Any driver who cannot provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test within the previous five days is required to test within 24 hours of entering WA.

Victoria

Victoria has been elevated to the high-risk (external site) category. Anyone entering from Victoria, or who has travelled through Victoria, in the past 14 days is subject to the following strict conditions to enter WA:

  • proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test in the 72 hours before departure
  • proof-of-receipt of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, where eligible
  • a mandatory requirement to use the G2G Now app on arrival in WA
  • COVID-19 tests on days two and 12.

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory has transitioned to the medium risk (external site) category. Approved travellers aged 12 years and older must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test in the 72 hours before departure.

New Zealand

In line with all other Australian jurisdictions, travel from New Zealand is now treated as travel from an international location (external site).

New South Wales

Based on the latest health advice, New South Wales is in the extreme risk (external site) category. This means travel from NSW to WA is not permitted, except under strict conditions.

Other states

Queensland remains a low risk category (external site), while South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are considered very low risk (external site).

Variants

To date, 152 cases of variant strains have been detected in Western Australia – including 53 Alpha strain, 15 Beta strain, one Gamma strain and 83 Delta strain.

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

Follow us on Twitter: WAHealth

* 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.

† 

  • Reported number of doses and coverage (%) is current as at 5 September 2021. Going forward, this information will be reported once a week.
  • Data source for vaccinations is VaccinateWA, so only accounts for vaccinations administered through WA Health-managed vaccination facilities.
  • Vaccinations administered by primary care, such as GPs, are not captured in this data.
  • Reported total employees' number has been calculated using payroll data provided on 23 August 2021. This data is updated on a monthly basis.
  • Reported total health workers also include those who do not appear on payroll data but have self-reported as working within a health service provider on VaccinateWA.

Note: staff members may be included in the denominators for more than one health provider. There may be slight differences in coverage reported in this table when compared to final annual reporting, as vaccination records from other data sources, such as AIR, may be taken into consideration.

# A rapid antigen test can return a result other than positive or negative. Any driver who returns a result other than negative will be required to get a PCR test.