TRAVEL restrictions in regional Western Australia, put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19, will be reduced tomorrow, Monday, May 18, when the current intrastate borders are reduced from 13 to four.
Premier Mark McGowan announced the easing of restrictions last weekend when outlining a roadmap to recovery for WA and under the new regional boundaries will allow:
- Travel between the South-West, Great Southern, Wheatbelt, Perth and Peel regions;
- Travel between the Mid West, Gascoyne and Pilbara regions;
- Travel within the Goldfields-Esperance region; and
- Travel permitted within the Kimberley local government areas.
The new borders are part of the second phase that comes into effect next Monday and will encourage Western Australians to return to work, unless they are unwell or vulnerable, so the WA economy can further rebuild in a safe and measured way, and also includes:
- Indoor and outdoor non-work gatherings lifted to 20 people;
- People to return to work, unless they are unwell or vulnerable;
- Cafés and restaurants can reopen with meal service (including within pubs, bars, clubs, hotels and casino), limited to 20 patrons and the four square metre rule applied;
- Weddings and funerals, limited to up to 20 attendees (30 for outdoor);
- Places of worship, community facilities and libraries to re-open, limited to 20 patrons;
- Community sports (non-contact) limited to 20 people;
- Outdoor or indoor fitness classes (minimal shared equipment) limited to 20 participants;
- Public swimming pools can open under strict rules (one indoor pool and one outdoor pool), limited to 20 patrons per pool.
The third phase will be finalised in coming weeks and will focus on continuing to build stronger links within the community and include further resumption of commercial and recreational activities, including:
- Further increases in the number of people allowed at indoor and outdoor non-work gatherings, including patrons at cafés and restaurants, weddings and funerals;
- Possible further relaxation of regional travel restrictions;
- Restrictions further relaxed for gyms, health clubs and indoor sport centres;
- Contact community sport (indoor and outdoor) permitted, with gathering limits;
- Beauty therapy and personal care services permitted;
- Auction houses and real estate auctions (not just online as it is currently); and
- Public playgrounds, outdoor gym equipment, skate parks, zoos, cinemas, galleries, museums and concert venues permitted to open, with gathering limits.
The fourth phase will be finalised in due course
WA's hard border with the rest of Australia will remain in place and is expected to be the final restriction lifted.
"Our hard borders and our isolation have worked to our advantage and we must keep it that way," Mr McGowan said.
"This phased approach allows us to carefully monitor COVID-19 in WA and ease restrictions in a way that supports our economy, with the smallest risk to the community's health.
"It might not meet everyone's expectation, but we are doing what we can to carefully get businesses up and going that have been devastated by the impacts of COVID-19."
"The resumption of dine-in services at cafés and restaurants is an important step forward in our State's recovery. "Our intrastate travel restrictions have been a harsh, but a necessary measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 around our State."