File photo. Photo: 123rf.com
Western Australia's 10-month coronavirus free streak has ended, with a hotel quarantine security guard in Perth testing positive to Covid-19, sending much of the state into a five-day lockdown.
The snap lockdown begins early this evening.
"Beginning at 6pm tonight the whole Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region will be going into full lockdown," WA Premier Mark McGowan said.
"This lockdown will last until 6pm on Friday."
McGowan said people in the lockdown regions were required to stay home, with some exceptions.
"Except for the following four reasons: shopping for essentials like groceries, medicine and necessary supplies; medical or healthcare needs, including compassionate requirements and looking after the vulnerable; exercise within their neighbourhood, but only with one other person and only for one hour per day; work where you cannot work from home or remotely," he said.
Pubs, clubs, playgrounds, and gyms will close. Restaurants will be takeaway only, and there will be no visitors allowed to care homes or hospitals.
Schools, which were due to be re-opened tomorrow, will remain closed for another week.
Case could be variant strain
McGowan said the security officer was working at the Four Points by Sheraton Perth.
"When the man was working at this hotel there were four active cases of Covid-19 in hotel quarantine," Mr McGowan said.
"Of those four cases we have at least three confirmed variant strains, two UK and one South African.
"We are told the guard was working on the same floor as a positive UK variant case."
The security guard's household members have tested negative this morning, but McGowan said he expected they would test positive in coming days.
They have been placed into quarantine at a state-run facility, McGowan said.
The Premier said the infected security guard had used the SafeWA contact register app to record his movements.
- ABC