WA Health has reported 20 new COVID-19 cases overnight, all from the container ship MV Ken Hou that berthed at Fremantle on Monday.
These 20 cases were mentioned in yesterday’s statement but were not part of the official reporting cycle, so are recorded as new cases today.
The State’s total now stands at 1084. To date, 1051 people have recovered from the virus in WA.
WA Health is now monitoring four active COVID-19 cases who are all currently in hotel quarantine.
The 20 positive cases from the MV Ken Hou are not unwell and will remain on the vessel. Their health status will be monitored daily.
Two crew members who tested negative to COVID-19 have been transferred to hotel quarantine where they will undergo further testing.
The department is working closely with the captain, shipping agent, vessel owner, WA Police, Fremantle Ports and Commonwealth agencies to manage the vessel and crew.
A second bulk carrier, the Poavosa Widsom, has been approved to berth and load cargo at Fremantle Port. Authorities are continuing to monitor this vessel – but there are currently no health concerns in relation to the crew.
Testing clinics
A list of all testing clinics is available on the HealthyWA website. To date, there have been 1,630,167 COVID-19 tests performed in WA. Of those, 193,997 were from regional WA*.
Vaccination
Since vaccination numbers were reported yesterday, 27,412 vaccine doses were recorded in WA, of which 14,823 were second doses. The total includes 4331 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) †.
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 update
Based on the most recent health advice, New Zealand will be elevated to a ‘medium risk’ jurisdiction (external site) under Western Australia’s controlled border category from 12.01am Thursday, 26 August, 2021. This means travel from New Zealand will no longer be permitted unless you are an approved traveller.
All approved travellers arriving in Western Australia from New Zealand must:
- self-quarantine in a suitable premises for 14 days.
- present for an initial COVID-19 test within 48 hours.
- present for a COVID-19 test if any symptoms develop during quarantine.
- present for a COVID-19 test on day 12 after arrival in WA (if still in WA).
Anyone who arrived in WA before 12.01am Thursday, 26 August, and has been to a New Zealand exposure site at the specific times must self-quarantine for 14 days and be tested within 48 hours and at day 12.
New South Wales
Based on the latest health advice, New South Wales will be further elevated to the new extreme risk (external site) category from 12.01am Thursday, 26 August, 2021. This means travel from New South Wales to Western Australia will not be 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.
Northern Territory Update
All people arriving in Western Australia from the Northern Territory who have visited an exposure site is required to self-quarantine for 14 days from the date and time they last visited the site. They must get tested for COVID-19 (within 48 hours) and isolate until they receive a negative result. They must also get tested on day 11.
This includes people crossing into the Kimberley from the Northern Territory. A person who refuses to get tested will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Anyone from the Darwin and Katherine areas who did not visit the venues and has arrived from August 12 to 16 is advised to get tested if they develop any symptoms that may be related to COVID-19.
Queensland and South Australia update
Based on the latest health advice, Queensland will transition to the low risk category (external site) while South Australia has been assessed as very low risk (external site). Both amendments are effective from 12.01am Thursday, 26 August, 2021.
The Australian Capital Territory and Victoria are at medium risk (external site). Tasmania is considered very low risk (external site) .
Variants
To date, 128 cases of variant strains have been detected in Western Australia – including 53 Alpha strain, 15 Beta strain, one Gamma strain and 59 Delta strain.
Visit WA Health’s HealthyWA website for the latest information on COVID-19.
Follow us on Twitter: WAHealth
*Daily swab numbers not available today.
** 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.