Coronavirus WA regional border restrictions to be lifted this Friday except for the Kimberley - ABC News

All West Australian regional travel bans, except the Kimberley and some remote areas, will be lifted in time for the WA Day long weekend, the State Government has announced.

Key points:

• The Kimberley and biosecurity zones will remain off limits
• The Premier has urged people to get out and travel within the state
• There have been four new COVID-19 cases from one family

Premier Mark McGowan said from this Friday, regional travel restrictions would be eased "significantly further".

"This is in time for the WA Day long weekend," he said.

"From Friday travel around WA will be permitted everywhere except the areas bounded by the Commonwealth biosecurity determination and 274 remote Aboriginal communities."

Coronavirus update: Follow all the latest news in our daily wrap.

WA's internal borders were reduced from 13 regions to four one week ago.

But calls for the final restrictions to be lifted continued to grow amid fears for business and tourism operators who remained cut off from Perth visitors.

Some restrictions remain in the north

Mr McGowan said the changes meant West Australians would be free to travel to all regions except the Kimberley and designated biosecurity zones.

"We are working closely with the Federal Government on a way forward to remove the Commonwealth biosecurity areas from Friday June 5," he said.

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"This is around two weeks earlier than the anticipated deadline set by the Federal Government and is consistent with the Northern Territory."

It means until June 5, people still will need an exemption to enter the Kimberley region, parts of the East Pilbara and the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku.

"We need a little more time before the Commonwealth biosecurity zones can be lifted as COVID-19 poses a greater health risk to residents of remote Aboriginal communities," Mr McGowan said.

He again urged Western Australians to travel within the state to support local businesses and tourism operators who had "been through hell".

"For now, we have [WA] all to ourselves, so let's make the most of it … go out and wander around our great state," he said.

Mr McGowan said phase three of the state's roadmap to recovery would be finalised within days and outlined by the weekend.

Four new cases of coronavirus

Meanwhile, WA has reported four new cases of coronavirus overnight, bringing the state's total to 564.

It takes the number of active cases in the state to six.

The four cases came from one Victorian family who returned from overseas on May 17 and were required to quarantine in a Perth hotel before flying home.

"The two parents and two teenage children flew into Perth from Doha on the 17th of May, on Qatar flight QR900," Health Minister Roger Cook said.

He warned the pandemic was not over.

"The virus is still lurking and we expect to see new cases as more people move around WA and get back into their daily routine," he said.

This chart uses a logarithmic scale to highlight coronavirus growth rates. Read our explainer to understand what that means — and how COVID-19 cases are spreading around the world.

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2020-05-25 05:38:31Z
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