A string of restrictions will lift from midnight on Thursday, including wearing masks indoors, the WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has announced.
From 12.01am on Friday, April 29, WA will wake up to ‘baseline measures’:
Indoor mask mandate lifted
No more masks required at venues, the office, or at indoor gatherings. Those aged 8-11 will no longer have to wear masks.
Going forward, masks will only be required for those aged 12 and over in:
– hospitals, aged care and disability care facilities,
– prisons and correctional facilities,
– airports and public transport,
– taxis and rideshare.
However, while they are no longer mandatory, masks are encouraged where physical distancing isn’t possible.
All capacity and gathering limits will be lifted
No 2sqm rule, no caps on visitors to the home, weddings or funerals. No limits in stadiums or major events.
WA will join other states in removing quarantine requirements for asymptomatic close contacts, provided they adhere to strict requirements.
These include wearing a mask, avoiding high risk and large gatherings, daily RAT testing, and working from home where possible.
Proof of vaccination requirement removed for entry to all venues except for hospitals and residential aged care facilities
The reason we are taking this step is that WA’s vaccination levels are incredibly high. Based on the data we have, there may be only tiny fraction of the community over the age of twelve who have not received at least one dose.
Vaccination requirements for employment will remain.
G2G pass requirement to enter WA will end, as will the three dose vaccination requirement for domestic arrivals.
International vaccination requirements will still be determined by Commonwealth settings, so the double dose requirement for international arrivals will continue.
WA’s requirement for unvaccinated Australian international arrivals to undertake seven days of isolation will also continue, but it will be reviewed in four weeks.
Hospital visitation arrangements continue to be in place to protect our most vulnerable citizens.
Masks and proof of vaccination requirements remain and non-essential visitors will be allowed with up to two people per patient per day during visitor hours.
Essential visits for compassionate reasons, birth partners, carers/parents/guardians will also continue.
Schools will also revert to baseline settings, meaning assemblies, camps, balls and off-site events can resume.
To help identify cases within schools and childcare, the WA government will provide 12 million free RATs to distribute across all schools and childcare facilities.
Parents and students will be encouraged to collect tests to ensure they are ready to test their children or students develop symptoms.
Travel to some remote Aboriginal communities will remain restricted to protect these more vulnerable communities.
