Perth 3-day lockdown from midnight Mercure Hotel cluster
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Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has announced Perth and Peel will go into a three-day lockdown, effective from midnight.
A mother, her four-year-old daughter and a Victorian man contracted the virus while in the Mercure hotel.
The mother and child’s infections were detected on April 16 and five days later were genomically linked to a COVID-positive husband and wife who arrived from India on April 10.
Genomic sequencing is underway to confirm the source of the Victorian man’s infection, which was detected on Friday morning.
The news comes after a COVID-19 cluster was identified at the Mercure Hotel Perth on Wednesday with the virus spreading among quarantining guests in separate rooms.
Perth 3-day lockdown from midnight Mercure Hotel cluster
Today, Victorian Health received the test result of one of the people in the immediate adjacent room to the cases involved in the Mercure Hotel intra-room transmission. The male in his 50s is COVID positive and is currently in hotel quarantine in Melbourne.
He was one of the two people in immediate adjacent rooms. The other person has returned a negative result and will complete 14 days of hotel quarantine in Perth.
This case arrived in Perth on April 3, on flight SQ223, after spending time in Shanghai. His room was alongside the family from the UK, so opposite the couple from India but one over to the right.
He returned a negative result on Day 12 in hotel quarantine and was then subsequently released on the 17th of April, before leaving for Melbourne on the 21st of April.
This means he spent up to five days in Perth, and we now need to assume he was infectious during this five day period. I will now go through what we currently know, but I want to say this – this is a fast-evolving situation and we are acting on information that this just coming to light, Mark McGowan Said,
Because the person is in Victoria, we’ve immediately mobilised teams to begin contact tracing. A more detailed summary of the locations and specifics times will be released later today when we have that information finalised from our contact tracing team.
But generally, this is what we know at this stage:
After leaving hotel quarantine on the 17th, he stayed with a friend and her two children at their home in Kardinya and went to a Malaysian restaurant.
That friend has – who is a close contact – had a rapid COVID test today and that has just returned positive.
On the 18th, the Victorian case visited a swimming pool in the southern suburbs. He had a coffee in Leeming, and dinner in Northbridge, and then stayed at St Catherine’s College at UWA – which offers short-stay accommodation.
On the 19th he visited a Chinese traditional medical doctor, went to a Northbridge and again stayed at the college that night.
On the 20th he visited Kings Park and Northbridge again.
On the 21st he had breakfast at St Catherine’s, before being driven by his friend to the airport. He boarded flight QF 778 from Perth to Melbourne at 1:05 pm that afternoon.
That flight had 257 passengers and Victorian Health is working on contact tracing those people.
For any Western Australia that was on that flight, and has since returned, you will be required to be tested immediately and self-quarantine for 14 days.
So in summary, we now have two positive cases that have been in our community since April 17.
Details and locations for both the Victorian case and his friend will be finalised and released publicly as soon as possible. If you have been to these locations during the times listed you will need to get tested and isolate until you return a negative test result.
If people are deemed a close contact with public health officials, they will be tested and required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
We are currently scaling up our contact tracing and COVID testing teams. We’re also obtaining CCTV vision to piece together more details.
We know his accommodation at St Catherine’s College at UWA has a separate bathroom. Health will be sent into St Catherine’s College to test people. So anyone at UWA, if you’re feeling unwell. You need to get tested.
Restrictions and three-day lockdown Perth Western Australia
As a result of this situation, we need to act and do what is necessary to prevent further community transmission.
We have gone more than 12 months of no community transmission and our lives in Western Australia have been normal, compared to what we have seen around the world. We need to do everything we can to protect our way of life.
That’s why, from midnight tonight, Perth and Peel will enter a THREE DAY lockdown over the long weekend – until midnight on Monday night.
I know this hard to take. I really wish we didn’t need to be doing this. But we can’t take any chances with this virus. We just can’t.
Perth 3-day lockdown Western Australia from midnight tonight
From midnight tonight, people will need to stay in the Perth and Peel regions and won’t be able to leave, unless you have an exemption.
There will be four reasons to leave your house, these are:
Mandatory Face Masks from 6pm tonight
Masks are mandatory from 6 pm tonight and over the three-day lockdown for Perth and Peel residents, and we recommend they be worn immediately.
If you have left Perth and Peel since 17 April, you will be required to wear a mask whenever you are in public across Western Australia.
Over the short three-day lockdown, you must wear a face mask unless you’re in your home, in your car with people you live with or doing vigorous exercise.
Masks are not necessary for children under 12.
Perth lockdown – Venues to close
The following facilities within the Perth and Peel regions will need to close over the course of the lockdown:
The following restrictions will apply for the lockdown period:
This will be the ONLY exemption for restaurants and other event locations.
3-day lockdown community transmission COVID-19 Western Australia Panic buying started across the Perth in Western Australia
COVID Testing Perth Western Australia
If you are unwell, more than ever you need to stay home and get tested if you’re symptomatic.
Our testing clinics are open and ready for people to get tested if they are symptomatic.
Vaccinations will continue over the three-day lockdown period.
More information on testing clinics is available at www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/ Articles/A_E/COVID-clinics
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COVID is incredibly challenging. As we’re experiencing.
I know this three-day short lockdown is difficult, but I hope we can keep it to three days only, give our contact tracers and health teams the time they need to ensure community spread is limited.
Unfortunately, Anzac Day dawn services will be cancelled in the Perth and Peel regions.
I encourage everyone to take part in a driveway dawn service again this year. I will be doing that again.
We will be monitoring this all very closely here on and continue to assess the situation – as more information comes to light.
It has been more than a year – Western Australia has experienced community transmission of this virus before. This has been an incredible result.
However we need to go back to what we know best, we need to stay safe.
We’ve all done this before and it has kept us safe. It’s crucial we act calmly and sensibly, to keep the community safe.
I know for many Western Australians this will be disruptive.
Perth 3-day lockdown from midnight Mercure Hotel cluster
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