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- WA will enter a three-day lockdown after Premier Mark McGowan confirmed two local cases of COVID-19 in the community
- WA will enter a strict lockdown from 6:00 pm AWST tonight, with people only allowed out of their homes for work, shopping, exercise and care purposes
- The lockdown comes after a Victorian man contracted COVID-19 while staying in hotel quarantine in Perth
- The man in his 50s then spent five days in the community, before flying from Perth to Melbourne on Wednesday, April 21
- The man had completed a 14-day quarantine stint at the Mercure Hotel in Perth — the centre of a recent coronavirus outbreak
- Victorian authorities said all passengers onboard the man’s flight are considered close contacts and are being asked to isolate and get tested
WA will enter a three-day lockdown after Premier Mark McGowan confirmed two local cases of COVID-19 in the community.
A man in his 50s contracted the virus while staying in hotel quarantine in Perth and then spent five days in the community while infectious.
One other close contact of the man, a woman from Perth’s southern suburbs, has already tested positive for the virus.
Premier McGowan stated both the man and woman then visited multiple other venues across the city while infectious.
The WA leader said while contact tracing continues, the Perth and Peel region of WA have been placed into a three-day lockdown.
Everyone in those areas is required to stay home, unless heading to work, carrying out essential shopping, providing or receiving care or exercising.
Premier McGowan has announced masks will be mandatory during the lockdown period, with anyone over the age of 12 expected to wear a face-covering while in public.
The man at the centre of this latest outbreak is now quarantining in Victoria after flying from Perth to Melbourne on Wednesday, April 21.
He left hotel quarantine after testing negative for COVID-19 on April 17, however, the WA Premier has confirmed he contracted the virus during his stay.
The man completed a 14-day quarantine stint at the Mercure Hotel in Perth — the centre of a recent coronavirus outbreak — after arriving from Shanghai on April 3.
The Department is contacting people who were on Qantas Flight 778 from Perth to Melbourne on Wednesday 21 April to inform them of their status as Primary Close Contacts, requiring them to get tested and immediately isolate for 14 days. 2/3
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 23, 2021
Victorian authorities have ordered every passenger on board the man’s flight to isolate and get tested for COVID-19.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley explained the man was notified after arriving in Melbourne and tested positive this morning.
“Out of caution, before that positive result was returned, the individual requested to be moved to hotel quarantine in Melbourne,” the Health Minister explained.
“He did exactly the right thing, he showed no signs of the illness and as a result of our friends in Western Australia notifying him and notifying us we were able to immediately get onto this case,” he added.
Minister Foley added the man was asymptomatic and did wear a mask while on the flight and while traveling through both airports.
