WA Border Restrictions Tighten As State Records Five New Cases

Western Australia has recorded five new locally acquired cases of Covid over the past 24 hours.

Another 11 international and interstate cases were also recorded.

The latest Covid numbers came from 6,179 tests returned yesterday.

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Three of the latest cases have been linked back to the Delta “backpacker cluster” which was started by a French backpacker who had travelled into WA from Queensland last month.

The fourth case has been identified as a hotel quarantine staff member and the fifth has been identified as a household contact of a domestic traveller.

According to WA Acting Premier Roger Cook, at least two of the latest positive cases were active in the community while infectious.

As a result of the latest Covid numbers, more exposure sites have been added to the list including six Perth locations.

Diver’s Tavern at Cable Beach in Broome has also been added to the list of exposure sites after a Covid positive person visited on December 30.

Anyone who visited the bar on that date are being urged to monitor themselves for symptoms.

Health authorities have also confirmed that a Pan Pacific security guard who tested positive to the Covid virus over the weekend has contracted the Omicron variant.

Acting Premier Roger Cook said Health Officials are still investigating the source of the new variant.

"While this is serious, in encouraging news it does not appear that there has been any further spread," he said.

"Investigations are still ongoing into how the infection occurred.”

In the wake of extremely high Covid numbers throughout other states including Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, the state government has made the decision to further tighten border restrictions.

ACT and Tasmania are now considered an “extreme risk” alongside QLD, NSW, SA and VIC which means travel between WA and these areas is no longer permitted from 12:01AM on January 8th.

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