WA Border Closure to Remain Amid Victoria COVID-19 Spike

Jetstar Cheap Flights
Plans to re-open the WA border around August 8 have been tossed aside.

WA Border Closure to Remain Amid Victoria COVID-19 Spike

Plans to re-open the WA border around August 8 have been tossed aside.
Jetstar Cheap Flights
Brought to you by
adventure-kings-logo

Borders to stay shut as long as the outbreak continues in Victoria.

The State’s Chief Health Officer says he won’t be recommending the WA border closure be re-open as long as the outbreak continues in Victoria.

Tentative plans to re-open the WA border around August 8 have been tossed aside as Victoria recorded 75 new cases on Monday alone.

The spike adds to the 213 cases now active in the State, with the Victorian Chief Health Officer indicating things were likely to “get worse before they get better”.

WA’s own Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson said the time to lift WA’s border would only come when there was little to no community transmission in Australia.

“If either they’ve got no community spread or we’re fairly confident that what little community spread (there is) is well under control and being effectively managed, that would be the time we would provide that advice (to reopen the border),” he said.

Victorian coronavirus spike “vindicates” WA’s border closure.

Premier Mark McGowan, who has faced backlash from other State Premiers and even the Prime Minister said the proof was now in the pudding when it came to border closures.

“I think we’ve been vindicated in relation to the border with the community spread of the virus in Victoria” he said.

Read more: Will the Perth AFL Hub tale place now?

But despite the Premier’s comments, Federal Liberal MPs stood by their argument all borders should be re-opened.

WA Senator and Small and Family Business Minister Michaelia Cash said there remained “no health reason” why they should stay closed.

“It’s absolutely devastating what’s going on in Victoria,” she said on The Morning Show.

“What we have done is ensure that our hospitals and our ICUs in particular have the capacity, and they now have that capacity, so there is no health reason as to why borders should remain closed.”

International travel even further away as the news comes just days after international travel was all but taken off the cards by Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, who said the airline would probably not be flying overseas until mid-next year.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data today confirmed only a quarter of Australians intended to go overseas once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

This was compared with more than two thirds who planned on travelling domestically in the next six months.

However, with WA border closures in place for the next three months, it is unclear when such interstate travel will be possible.

More Perth coronavirus coverage on SoPerth.com.au.