IT was the announcement no one could escape and one that is having a major impact, for people living in WA and those wanting to travel here for various reasons.
Despite promising for months that WA would open to the rest of the country, and indeed the world, on Saturday, February 5, Premier Mark McGowan went back on his word and last week said it wouldn't be happening and gave no hint of when it might.
For some who were concerned about the number of cases of Omicron on the east coast, it provided a sense of relief, but for others it caused nothing but frustration as plans to see family and friends were once again thrown into disarray.
At his press conference last Thursday night Mr McGowan said unfortunately the world changed in December when Omicron arrived.
"It would be irresponsible and reckless for the State government to ignore the facts and ignore the reality of the situation playing out on the east coast," Mr McGowan said.
"Allowing a wave of Omicron cases to fly straight into Perth from February 5, with no testing, no quarantine and no public health measures would cause a flood of the disease across our State.
"WA's new Safe Transition Plan will begin to be implemented on February 5, however, the full border opening has been delayed."
Under the interim border settings, approved travellers will be permitted to enter WA with testing and quarantine under the new expanded exemption criteria.
The expanded criteria includes allowances for returning Western Australians, compassionate grounds, family members, and those entering for urgent or essential medical treatment.
What the expanded criteria doesn't allow for is skilled workers, something many facets of the agricultural sector have been missing for two years.
Liberal Party Agricultural Region MLC, Steve Martin, said the ongoing worker shortages in agriculture, horticulture and tourism would only get worse with the Premier delaying opening up.
"WA's agricultural sector has done a magnificent job for the past two years dealing with the worker shortages, but after a massive harvest, farmers, truck drivers and agricultural workers are exhausted and need support from the State government," Mr Martin said.
"Seeding is just around the corner and the worker shortage is only going to get worse because of the lack of certainty around our border arrangements."
For WAFarmers grains section president Mic Fels, the change had affected both him and people he knows.
He said there was no denying the change would impact the availability of labour for seeding.
"I know someone who has had to cancel people from England that were locked and loaded for post-February 5 to assist with seeding," Mr Fels said.
"Personally, I had a number of people who had been contacting me over the last two years looking for work and my next job was going to be getting in touch with them and get them organised to come for seeding or even the whole year because I'm short-staffed.
"The news came as a blow to me because that's now a pointless exercise and it feels like we're on this merry-go-round that we can't get off and that's getting worse and worse every lap."
Grain farmers are feeling the sting of the announcement in more ways than one - not only are they set to yet again struggle to find workers, but the premier grain forum which is attended by hundreds of people every year has been moved online.
The Grains Research and Development Corporation's (GRDC) 2022 Grains Research Update has moved to a free virtual format, to be held on February 21-22, in response to uncertainty of COVID-19 restrictions in WA and the increased risk of community transmission at large events.
GRDC senior regional manager - west Peter Bird said by taking the important annual forum online, they could continue to provide the latest research and insights while protecting the health and safety of everyone involved.
"In the last week we have seen very low but consistent transmission of COVID-19 in the community," Mr Bird said.
"We have seen in all other States of Australia how quickly case numbers can increase, and in a month's time when the Updates are due to be held, our situation might look very different.
"This is a considerable challenge for our event convenor, Grains Industry Western Australia (GIWA), and GRDC is working with them to deliver the best possible event experience to growers, advisers and researchers, as well as the presenters themselves."
The cancellation of the in-person event means growers, researchers and other industry professionals will miss the chance to catch-up at the biggest grain networking event the State has to offer.
While that scenario is undoubtedly upsetting, there are bigger areas of concern with the underprepared healthcare system at the top of the list.
Opposition leader Mia Davies said it was deeply concerning the Australian Medical Association (AMA) was warning the delay could result in peak numbers of infections coinciding with the winter flu season when stretched hospitals were under most pressure.
"In particular, regional communities need to know how their health services are equipped to deal with critical cases, and how resources would be deployed to support those in remote parts of the State," Ms Davies said.
With that in mind, Mr Fels said there was a solution to the problem that would help both healthcare and agriculture to get the support they need.
"This whole thing is about the lack of preparedness in the health care system and it's been highlighted that a shortage of health workers is central to that," he said.
"WAFarmers is calling for the State government to start a gradual opening by initially putting a sole focus on skilled workers, for a variety of sectors including health care and agriculture."
"If they don't want to open the floodgates, that's their decision, rightly or wrongly, but that doesn't mean we can't let anyone in and now is the time to facilitate bringing skilled workers in."
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