Two trucks drivers who travelled to Western Australia from New South Wales have tested positive to COVID-19 after going to several sites across WA.
Key points:
- The men arived in WA yesterday after travelling from NSW via Vic and SA
- The men are now in hotel quarantine and are showing mild symptoms
- Four close contacts have been identified so far
Premier Mark McGowan said the men have had very little contact with the general public, sleeping in their truck cabin after arriving at a warehouse in the Perth suburb of Kewdale.
The men, aged 29 and 23, had travelled from NSW via Victoria and South Australia.
On the way they stopped at the Yellowdine Roadhouse near Southern Cross, a service station in Norseman and at the WA-SA border checkpoint.
"The men eventually arrived at a warehouse in Kewdale last night," Mr McGowan said.
"They reportedly slept in their truck last night and had minimal contact with others throughout their travel."
'No prospect' of contacts being infectious
No lockdown restrictions have been announced at this stage despite the two positive cases, who are now in hotel quarantine.
At this stage, four contacts have been identified — one person at the border, one at the service station in Norseman, one at the Yellowdine Roadhouse at Southern Cross and one at the Kewdale warehouse where they arrived at 2:00am this morning.
Mr McGowan said there was "no prospect" the four people who had come into contact with the truck drivers in WA over the last day could be infectious.
"It takes a little period of time for the virus to develop in your system if you acquire it, before you can become infectious," he said.
"So, the fact they are now in quarantine and being managed is good and that means the risk, according to the advice I have from the chief health officer, is very low."
Anyone who has been to the exposure sites during the relevant times must get tested immediately, self-quarantine for 14 days and await further health advice.
List of exposure sites
| Exposure date | Exposure time | Suburb | Location | Date updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
26/08/2021 | 5:30pm – 6:15pm | Norseman | BP Truckstop Eyre Hwy, 1 Coolgardie-Esperance Hwy | 27/08/2021 |
26/08/2021 | 6:45pm – 7:15pm | Widgiemooltha | IOR Petroleum Fuel Station Lot 124 Kingswood St | 27/08/2021 |
26/08/2021 | 9:15pm – 10:00pm | Yellowdine | Mobil Yellowdine Fuel Station 22 Great Eastern Highway | 27/08/2021 |
26/08/2021 | 9:55pm – 10:40pm | Southern Cross | Shell Fuel Station 22 Great Eastern Highway | 27/08/2021 |
No new restrictions imposed as WA avoids lockdown
After speaking with the Chief Health Officer, Mr McGowan said there would be no new COVID-19 restrictions imposed at this time.
"Obviously, we'll monitor things very carefully," he said.
"We're accessing the CCTV to check who they've met with, confirm what they've said is accurate.
Mr McGowan said the truck drivers had done nothing wrong.
He told reporters the truck drivers had received the text message confirming they were positive at 6am, almost six hours before their employer notified WA authorities.
Truck drivers travelling interstate are currently tested every week.
Mr McGowan has previously called for an urgent discussion on whether vaccination should be mandatory for interstate truck and train drivers.
It would need an agreement between the states and Commonwealth.
"We're pushing to get that in place," Mr McGowan said.
He said he was not surprised NSW health had not notified WA about the men's positive tests.
"They may not have known where these people were, because they are truck drivers," he said.
"I suppose it is understandable they did not let the West Australian government know because they wouldn't know they are in Western Australia."
The men had both received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and wore masks while outside their truck.Mr McGowan said anyone in the community who is experiencing symptoms should also get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Mr McGowan said the men had isolated in the cabin of their truck before they were taken by ambulance to the Westin Hotel in Perth to quarantine.
They are being re-tested today to confirm the test results.
WA now has 26 active cases, including 20 on the Ken Hou ship docked at Fremantle Port.
Under WA's new "extreme risk" classification of NSW, only one flight arrived from NSW into WA.
Of the 20 people aboard,12 were crew, four were approved travellers and four were refused entry and placed in hotel quarantine.
Children could be vaccinated in schools
Speaking after National Cabinet, about the decision to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds, Mr McGowan raised the prospect it could be done at schools.
There are 134,00 children in that age group in WA.
They could otherwise be vaccinated at state clinics or by their GP.
Mr McGowan also said WA would give 260,000 N95 masks to NSW as it continues to struggle with a major outbreak.
He also confirmed a further 101 evacuees from Afghanistan had arrived in Perth last night.
That takes to 259 the number of evacuees now in hotel quarantine in Perth from Afghanistan.
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2021-08-27 08:21:23Z
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