Western Australia will reopen from February 5 next year to both interstate and international travellers.
WA, the last state to abolish border restrictions, will finally reopen the state after 616 days when the state introduced tough border regulations to combat the spread of COVID virus.
The WA government said that 80 per cent of the state’s over-12 population had received two vaccine doses – a milestone attained today.
Premier Mark McGovern said it was an “incredible” milestone and that WA was the “envy of the world.” He added that all border restrictions would be permanently disbanded in the new year.
“We are one of the most vaccinated societies in the world and we have achieved this without having extended lockdowns, outbreaks or community transmission of the virus,” he said.
This means that WA will be the only state with travel restrictions in place for Christmas.
The hard border has been key to WA’s success in keeping the virus out of the state – only one person has died in WA as a result of community transmission.
The ongoing border restrictions has given WA more time to get its health system under control but the tough restrictions have kept families and friends across the country apart for almost two years and caused major problems for the state’s tourism industry.
