Western Australia will reopen its border on 3 March 2022, Premier Mark McGowan has announced.
From this date, Australians will be allowed to enter WA from interstate if they are triple vaccinated (if eligible), have a registered G2G Pass and take a rapid antigen test within 12 hours of arrival.
Passengers will also be allowed to arrive in WA from overseas if they meet the federal government’s entry requirements and follow the same rules that apply to interstate arrivals, including doing a rapid antigen test after arrival. Unvaccinated international arrivals will still be required to enter hotel quarantine for 7 days.
The on-arrival testing regime will be in place initially for two weeks after the border reopens and will then be reviewed. Anyone arriving in WA will be provided with one rapid antigen test so they are able to meet the requirement.
WA was previously due to reopen its border on 5 February, but this was delayed due to Omicron. Asked by a journalist today how people could trust him not to delay the border reopening yet again, Mark McGowan said “this date is locked in, and I can’t foresee a situation where it would change.”
Last December, when announcing the original 5 February reopening, Mr McGowan said the date was “locked in barring some unforeseen emergency or catastrophe which we cannot predict,” adding “it is a very safe bet that on February 5, this transition will occur.”
But this time, Mr McGowan seems to be serious.
“It’s only 12 days away, it’s a lot closer than last time,” he said today.
Currently, only Approved travellers who meet strict entry criteria can apply for a G2G Pass to enter WA.
Last week, Western Australia reduced the amount of time interstate and international arrivals need to quarantine after arrival from 14 to 7 days. December’s reduction in the cap on direct international arrivals was also reversed, and hotel quarantine is no longer required for fully vaccinated international arrivals who can now quarantine at home for 7 days instead.
COVID-19 tests are currently required on days 1 and 7 after arrival in WA, with a negative rapid antigen test required on day 7 to end the traveller’s quarantine period. After completing 7 days of home quarantine, vaccinated arriving travellers must continue to wear a mask indoors and outdoors for another 7 days.
Almost every other Australian state & territory has now removed all border entry requirements such as travel passes and pre-departure testing for interstate arrivals. Only Tasmania still has travel restrictions in place for people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
WA is also now the only state with a cap on international arrivals, although the cap on vaccinated arrivals will be removed next month.
Qantas announced earlier this week that it will continue flying from Melbourne to London via Darwin until at least June. The Darwin stopover had been due to be replaced with a Perth stopover from the end of March. The airline cited the ongoing WA border closure for delaying the return of the Perth-London flight until at least June 2022.
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