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Mr McGowan has previously said the state would not relax border restrictions with COVID-infected states before Christmas andflagged any major changes,such as the reintroduction of face mask rules,would not occur until after the school holidays finished at the end of January.
The transition plan will likely contain firm dates on when changes to the state’s strict zero-COVID response will take place as well as explicit vaccination targets.
Last week,South Australian Premier Steven Marshall announced he would ease domestic border restrictions for double-vaccinated people from November 23. Tasmania will allow domestic travel to resume for double-jabbed people from December 15,when the state is estimated to reach a 90 per cent vaccination rate.
The Northern Territory’s plan will allow vaccinated travellers from low to medium-level COVID locations from early November,while Queensland will allow interstate visitors from December 17.
The $400 million investment included $206.8 million for 270 extra beds at WA hospitals.
About 120 of these new beds will be installed at Rockingham,Osborne Park and two other hospitals in a quick-build ‘modular’ fashion.
About $191.2 million will be spent on hiring an extra 410 new nurses and 180 doctors.
The McGowan government has received intense criticism from doctors and nurses unions for its under resourcing of the hospital system,which led to record ambulance ramping and daily code yellows at metro hospitals.
The new funding is in addition to extra funding announced in the September budget and will see 530 additional beds brought online in the system compared to March this year.
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Mr McGowan refused to admit the hospital was experiencing a crisis and said WA’s health system was experiencing the same pressures as its eastern state counterparts.
“No,what we’re doing is providing additional capacity both in the budget in September and now for when COVID inevitably will get here next year,” he said.
“We’re going to put some modular hospitals alongside some existing hospitals or modular construction alongside some existing hospitals as they have done in Canberra,so we have that boost of capacity to deal with the situation when COVID arrives here sometime next year.”
NSW border rules change
Mr McGowan also announced the state would downgrade its COVID risk category for New South Wales from extreme risk to high risk from Saturday,which will give police more leeway in allowing people into WA on compassionate grounds.
He said this included Western Australians who may have travelled internationally to Sydney recently,have roots in WA and have a legitimate right to return.
Anyone entering WA must be fully vaccinated and return a negative COVID-19 test three days before entry.
Those people may quarantine at home provided police are satisfied with the quarantine conditions.