While the Australian Medical Association has repeatedly called for a national plan to tackle the highly transmissible variant of the Omicron coronavirus, it is less than impressed with Western Australia’s plan to delay reopening its border .
AMA Chairman Dr Omar Khorshid said there was no doubt that public hospitals and GPs in WA did not feel ready for Omicron, but there was also “little confidence that some things will change in the weeks and months to come.”
The President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid.Credit:Stone of Kruijff
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan announced in December that the state’s borders would reopen to the rest of Australia and the world on February 5, barring “an unforeseen emergency or disaster”.
That plan would have allowed doubly vaccinated interstate and international travelers to return to the state next month without completing quarantine, although COVID testing requirements were announced.
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Last night Mr McGowan said Omicron “is in a new state of emergency” and reopening would be delayed as eastern states were seeing tens of thousands of COVID-19 cases a day and hospitals were under increasing pressure.
The reopening of WA was previously linked to a double-dose vaccination rate of 90% of residents aged 12 and over.
Mr McGowan last night flagged a new third dose target of 80-90 per cent of West Australians eligible, and said ‘a whole range of things’ would be needed before WA reconsiders reopening to the rest of the world . Read the full story here.
As of Thursday, 88.9% of the WA population over the age of 12 had been double vaccinated and 25.8% over the age of 16 had received their booster shot.
In New South Wales, 93.8% of people aged 16 and over have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 29% of the adult population have received a third dose.
Dr Khorshid said Mr McGowan’s announcement ‘should be recognized as a failure by the WA [government] to be prepared and a broken promise”.
“Omicron is already here and will soon cause a major outbreak in WA. Sticking your head in the sand won’t make it go away. Let’s get ready.
According to the plan announced last night, the borders will remain closed but with some adjustments. Returning West Australians or those with close family ties will be able to return and self-quarantine.
Those wishing to travel to WA for compassionate reasons must be triply vaccinated and return a negative rapid antigen test 24 hours prior to entry and then quarantined.
International travel will be allowed, but only under the arrivals cap and with 14 days of hotel and home quarantine.
