Western Australia Announces Delay to WA Border Opening Amid Omicron Fears

The initially-planned reopening of Western Australia’s border to the rest of the world on February 5 will be delayed indefinitely, WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced on the 20th January.

Mr McGowan called a press conference on Thursday (20th) night to announce the delay, which he said was due to the escalating health risks posed by the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The Premier said the state disaster council met on Wednesday and he received advice from the chief health officer on Thursday morning about delaying the reopening.

He said a new date would be considered during the next month.

Some travel conditions were still set to change on February 5, including expanding the list of people exempt from the hard border, with a focus on those travelling into WA for compassionate reasons.

But those people will still be required to undertake quarantine for 14 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI9VMtCoJ20