WA Health is reporting 10 new cases of COVID-19 overnight. These cases were reported in yesterday’s statement but will be recorded in today’s official numbers.
All cases are linked to the oil and chemical tanker the MV Stolt Sakura which berthed at Fremantle Port on Saturday.
The State’s total stands at 1,109. To date, 1085 people have recovered from the virus in WA.
As of 8pm last night, WA Health was monitoring 15 active cases of COVID-19 including three people who are in hotel quarantine.
Vessel update
Six crew members from the MV Stolt Sakura have been transferred to Fiona Stanley Hospital, following the transfer of a further two people overnight. Two crew members are in ICU, both are in a serious but stable condition. The other four crew members are being managed on a respiratory ward and are in a stable condition.
At this stage it is expected that crew members will remain in isolation or quarantine on board the vessel unless they need to be transferred for medical treatment. WA Health will continue to work with the vessel and key maritime stakeholders regarding its ongoing management.
Australian diplomat update
A family member of a positive COVID-19 case reported in yesterday’s statement, has been identified outside of the normal reporting cycle. The case will be recorded in tomorrow’s official numbers. The family had been self-quarantining in a Northbridge apartment and have since been transferred to a State Quarantine Facility.
In addition, the family member of the positive case, our contact tracing team has identified nine other close contacts and so far all have returned a negative COVID-19 test result.
All contacts remain in self-quarantine for 14 days and will be managed by WA Health public health officials.
Adelaide
Our contact tracing teams have contacted Western Australian travellers on Virgin flight VA722 from Adelaide to Perth at 18:00 hours on Friday 1 October as Adelaide Airport had been listed as an exposure site.
They have been instructed to get tested and isolate until they return a negative result.
This is in relation to a person who travelled from Victoria to South Australia, arriving at 17:25 hours in Adelaide on Friday 1 October, who returned a positive COVID-19 test.
Anyone who has been to an exposure location listed on the SA website (external site) should quarantine until they have been advised otherwise by Public Health.
Testing clinics
Yesterday, 480 people were swabbed at State-run clinics. To date, there have been 1,781,052 COVID-19 tests performed in WA. Of those, 208,114 are from regional WA.
A list of all testing clinics is available on the HealthyWA website.
COVID-19 vaccinations*
Since vaccination numbers were reported on 1 October, 58,631COVID-19 vaccine doses were recorded in WA – 29,253of these were second doses. The total includes 3619 historic COVID-19 vaccine doses*. These figures represent COVID-19 vaccinations at State-run clinics and doses given as part of the Commonwealth rollout**.
There are many regional COVID-19 vaccination clinics open across WA, with bookings preferred but walk-ins accommodated where possible.
Western Australian children aged 12 to 15 years are eligible for a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination (external site). Parents and guardians are encouraged to visit rollup.wa.gov.au (external site) to register and book appointments for their children in this age group.
Walk-in community clinics are available for young people aged 16 years and over (year 11 and 12) and school staff (external site). Bookings are not required but it is recommended registrations are made through a VaccinateWA (external site) account to make it easier to check in. Proof of age is also required.
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (external site) is available at selected WA pharmacies. To find a pharmacy offering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, visit Vaccine Clinic Finder (external site) or findapharmacy (external site).
For the latest WA vaccination figures, visit the COVID-19 Coronavirus: Vaccination dashboard (external site)**.
Border controls
New directions make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for freight, transport and logistics workers who enter Western Australia from high or extreme risk jurisdictions, based on the latest public health advice.
New directions make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory (external site) for WA’s port workers who board or work with exposed vessels.
Victoria
Based on the latest health advice, Victoria has been elevated to the extreme risk (external site) category. This means travel from Victoria to Western Australia is not permitted.
Under this category, exemptions for approved travellers have been further restricted to Commonwealth and State officials, Members of Parliament, diplomats and specialist or extraordinary circumstances determined by the State Emergency Coordinator or Chief Health Officer.
Other states
New Zealand
In line with all other Australian jurisdictions, travel from New Zealand is treated as travel from an international location (external site).
Variants
To date, 169 cases of variant strains have been detected in Western Australia – including 53 Alpha strain, 15 Beta strain, one Gamma strain and 93 Delta strain. Visit WA Health’s HealthyWA website for the latest information on COVID-19.
Follow us on Twitter: WAHealth
†A rapid antigen test that returns a result other than negative is termed a ‘non-negative’ result, as it requires a follow-up confirmatory PCR test before it can be deemed a true positive result.
** WA vaccination data for the WA COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard is sourced from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). AIR is a national register maintained by the Australian Government that records all vaccines given to all people in Australia. WA data includes all COVID-19 vaccinations in WA, whether administered by WA Health, Australian Government providers or other providers (including GPs). WA previously reported only WA Health data. Note that the dashboard does not update until after 2pm Monday to Friday. A vaccine dashboard data interpretation guide (external site) is also available to help you.