Western Australian premier REFUSES to be in the same room as his South Australian counterpart over fears he could have coronavirus – despite the state having no cases in 11 days
- WA premier won’t attend the first in-person National Cabinet meeting on Friday
- A spokesperson explained the presence of SA premier as reason for the snub
- WA remains only state to maintain a hard border against SA despite few cases
- SA had a small outbreak from hotel quarantine last month but no case in 11 days
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan won’t attend the first in-person National Cabinet meeting over concerns South Australian Premier Steven Marshall could have coronavirus.
Leaders from each state and territory will fly to Canberra for Friday’s meeting except Mr McGowan – who will join from Perth to avoid being in a room with Mr Marshall.
A spokesperson for the WA premier said that though the state’s health advice is that travel to Canberra is safe, there are restrictions in place for people who have mixed with SA residents.
Mark McGowan (pictured) will not attend the first in -person National Cabinet meeting in Friday
Health workers in Adelaide (pictured) at a drive-through coronavirus testing clinic in November
Because of this reason, it would not be ‘appropriate’ for Mr McGowan to attend, the spokesperson said.
Despite Wednesday being the 11th consecutive day that SA has recorded zero coronavirus cases, WA remains the only state to keep its borders closed to the state.
WA this week moved to lift travel rules for people coming from NSW and Victoria after declaring those states ‘very low risk’.
From Friday, SA travellers will move to the ‘low risk’ category and no longer require exemptions to enter WA, although they will still need to self-quarantine.
A state needs to have 28 consecutive days of zero community cases to be in the ‘very low risk’ category under WA’s rules.
The move has caught the SA premier off-guard after he said on Wednesday he would try to convince Mr McGowan to ease restrictions ahead of the meeting.
‘I will see Mark McGowan in Canberra tomorrow night and I will certainly be asking the premier to consider the excellent results that we have here in South Australia,’ he said.
‘There are many people in our state who have friends, they’ve got family, they’ve got loved ones in Western Australia and they would love to see them.’
‘It’s now time for Western Australia to again consider lifting those restrictions in time for Christmas.’
Steven Marshall (pictured) said he would try and talk to Mr McGowan about easing hard border restrictions ahead of Christmas
SA reported no new infections on Wednesday, leaving the so-called Parafield cluster at 33, but the state now has no active cases.
A number of states imposed travel restrictions on South Australia when the cluster first emerged, but those have largely been removed or soon will be.
From next week, SA will also ease a range of local restrictions it imposed last month, which will include allowing up to 50 people at household gatherings, including Christmas celebrations.
Patrons in pubs and restaurants will also be allowed to consume drinks while standing up while the size of funerals and weddings will rise to 200.
The capacity in entertainment venues, such as theatres of cinemas, will increase from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, provided people are wearing face masks.
WA on Tuesday announced one coronavirus case in hotel quarantine but no locally acquired infections – with 13 active cases being monitored.
Source link