Western Australia deepens separation from COVID-era country | Coronavirus pandemic

Western Australia has suspended plans to reopen its borders between states due to the proliferation of the Omicron variant.

Australia will remain a divided nation as Western Australian mining states suspend plans to reopen its borders on February 5, citing the health risks of rising Omicron coronavirus variants in eastern states.

The most populous state in New South Wales (NSW) reported the deadliest day of the pandemic on Friday.

NSW reported 46 deaths from COVID-19 patients, including one child, while Victoria State lost 20 lives. However, the drop in hospitalizations in both states gave hope that recent outbreaks could peak.

All states and territories, except Western Australia (WA), have reopened their internal borders According to the policy of living with COVID-19, despite a record increase in cases. Western Australia was due to continue next month.

However, Western Australian Prime Minister Mark McGowan made an astonishing announcement on Thursday night, saying the opening would be “irresponsible and irresponsible” given the rapid deployment of Omicron.

Instead, reopening would be indefinitely delayed, or at least 80 percent of triple-dose vaccines. Today, it is about 26 percent.

“If we went ahead with the original plan, we would have deliberately included thousands and thousands of COVID cases in WA and that’s not what I’m going to do at the moment,” McGowan told reporters.

McGowan said the original reopening plan was based on the Delta voltage that is not transmitted, not Omicron.

‘If not now, when?’

The state, the size of Western Europe with a population of just 2.7 million, has been closed to other countries and the outside world for months, taking advantage of its natural isolation to keep cases low.

There are currently 83 active cases in the state, compared to 550,000 nationwide, a few of which are Omicron.

The decision will anger Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has long called on all states to learn and live with the virus.

“I know a lot of Western Australians will be very disappointed this morning and ‘if not now, when?’ they will ask the question, ”federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg told Sky News.

Some WA travel conditions will still change on Feb. 5, including the inclusion of more people for compassionate reasons, though they would still have to be isolated for 14 days.

The original plan would have allowed double-vaccination between national and international travelers without completing quarantine. Now visitors will need to get a triple vaccine.

“What we’re going to do is review the situation in February and look at what’s happening in the east and look at what the best outlook is for Western Australia,” McGowan said.

Cases in the rest of the world have risen in recent weeks, with illness and absenteeism overloading hospitals and causing major disruptions in supply chains.