Hermit state WA reopens as Qld records another 24 Covid deaths
Australia is just hours away from returning to pre-pandemic interstate travel arrangements, with Western Australia set to bring down its hard border with the rest of the country.
Travellers into Western Australia - including returning residents - will need to be triple-vaccinated against Covid-19 and have a completed travel pass to enter the state (Image: Unsplash)
WA will reopen to eastern states from 11.59pm on Wednesday, making travel freely permitted again between all states and territories.
Hard border measures have been in place in Western Australia for several months following Covid-19 outbreaks in other jurisdictions.
The milestone coincides with Queensland recording 24 Covid-19 deaths and 5011 new cases, with hundreds still in hospital with the virus.
There are 316 patients being treated for Covid-19 in hospital and another 26 in intensive care. Six people are on ventilators.
The latest figures show 90.9 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose of a vaccine, while 92.83 per cent have had two. More than 62 per cent have had a booster.
Travellers into Western Australia – including returning residents – will need to be triple-vaccinated against Covid-19 and have a completed travel pass to enter the state.
WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said he expected an influx of travellers after months of being closed off to the rest of the country.
“We’ve had almost 23,000 applications (for travel passes), so we’re expecting tomorrow will be busy,” he told Perth radio station 6PR.
“It takes between 15 and 25 minutes to basically process passengers off large aircraft.”
The border relaxation comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and WA-based federal minister Ben Morton tested positive to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine be used as a booster.
The advisory group said Novavax was recommended for those over 18 when an mRNA vaccine, such as Pfizer, was not suitable.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said since Novavax was first approved by the country’s medical regulator, more than 25,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered as a first dose.
“The Therapeutic Goods Administration is currently considering an application for whole-of-population use of the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine as a booster,” Mr Hunt said.
“The TGA and ATAGI continue to review emerging evidence on all Covid-19 vaccines.”
While vaccines are not yet approved for children under five in Australia, US President Joe Biden indicated in his State of the Union address American scientists were working on such an approval.
The head of the TGA previously said approval for under-fives vaccines had been “put on ice” in the US, meaning approvals would not take place in Australia until at least after Easter.
In all, there were 59 deaths reported from Covid-19 on Wednesday, including the 24 Queensland deaths, 28 from Victoria, five in NSW and two in the Northern Territory.
