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Gladys Berejiklian has refused to close off New South Wales to Western Australia residents despite Mark McGowan urging her to do so.
The NSW premier said it was not necessary to shut the border because there has only been one Covid-19 case recorded in Perth, which has been put into a five-day lockdown.
Travellers entering NSW from Perth, Peel and south-west WA are required to isolate until Friday and get tested within 48 hours of arrival.
Gladys Berejiklian has refused to close off New South Wales to Western Australia residents despite Mark McGowan urging her to do so.
Perth was left deserted on Sunday after Mark McGowan locked the city down for five days
Ms Berejiklian suggested WA’s lockdown was an over-reaction and noted that she only locked down Sydney’s Northern Beaches when there had been 40 cases of community transmission.
‘It’s very difficult going into lockdown for any amount, it’s scary and the businesses and communities in families and I do wish them well and I hope the situation has a good result and hopefully there won’t be any cases of further community transmission and hopefully the precautions they are taking will be the end of it,’ she said.
‘The key is to make sure we act quickly and to provide as much information as possible, but also to make a proportional response. We don’t know of any community transmission within WA apart from the security guard, so we are acting according to that risk.’
Asked if she had any any words of wisdom for Mr McGowan, the NSW Premier said: ‘I would not presume to have any advice for any of our colleagues apart from saying that please judge New South Wales on our record of how we manage things here, it is not for me to suggest what other premiers should do, that is a matter for them.
‘All of us have to be considerate of what is happening in WA at the moment. Our thoughts are with everyone in WA at the moment.
Mr McGowan imposed the five-day lockdown on Sunday after a hotel quarantine security guard tested positive.
He urged other states to shut their borders but Ms Berejiklian said: ‘We have an open border policy in New South Wales.’
Earlier on Monday Peter Dutton accused Mark McGowan of imposing a harsh five-day lockdown in Western Australia to boost his chances of re-election.
The Home Affairs Minister said Mr McGowan had over-reacted because he doesn’t want to jeopardise his chances at the polls in March if more infections emerge.
Peter Dutton has accused Mark McGowan of imposing a lockdown in Western Australia to boost his chances of re-election. Pictured: Long lines for testing in Perth on Sunday
In an interview with Peter Stefanovic on Sky News show First Edition on Monday morning, Mr Dutton claimed there is a ‘political dynamic at play’.
He compared the drastic closure to Queensland’s refusal to open its borders to NSW until after Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was re-elected in late October.
‘As we saw in Queensland there was a bit of panic in the lead-up to an election. Western Australia’s going into an election in March and premiers don’t want this virus getting away,’ he said.
Mr McGowan is hot favourite to win another four years in power on March 13, riding high on the popularity of his tough border closures which are favoured by a vast majority of locals.
Betting companies are offering $1.05 on the Labor leader to win, compared with $8.50 for the Coalition.
A couple talk with police officers at the Royal Perth Hospital Covid-19 Clinic on January 31
As soon as Mr McGowan gave the order to lock down, Perth’s streets were deserted
Meanwhile, fears have been raised that WA’s QR code system has not been up to scratch since it was introduced in December.
A survey by The West Australian found that less than 20 per cent of customers in a Perth cafe had signed in when they entered.
Customers told the newspaper that checking in was rarely enforced and was essentially optional, meaning health officials would not be able to contact everyone required in the event of an outbreak.
On Monday morning, officials were scrambling to work out how a security guard working in a Perth quarantine hotel contracted Covid while wearing full PPE.
The man, aged in his 20s, tested positive on Saturday night, sparking a harsh five-day lockdown for Western Australia’s Perth, Peel and South West regions after the state had gone 10 months without a community case of the deadly virus.
The Home Affairs Minister (left) said Mr McGowan (right) had over-reacted because he doesn’t want to jeopardise his chances at the polls in March if more infections emerge
The security guard was working on the same floor of the Sheraton Four Points hotel in Perth that was housing returned Australians confirmed to have the highly infectious UK Covid strain.
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