Coronavirus NSW: WA border opens to NSW residents, no quarantine needed

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says there is no longer any reason to keep people from NSW in quarantine when they arrive in the state.

NSW residents will be allowed to fly to Western Australia from Tuesday without needing to quarantine with WA Premier Mark McGowan pushing ahead with planned border changes after a COVID case in a Sydney hotel quarantine worker was linked to a foreign airline crew.

Quarantine free travel to the West was set to come into effect on Tuesday, but a final decision was delayed until Monday after a recent case was discovered in a southwestern Sydney woman who worked in hotel quarantine.

That case has now been linked with a travelling aircrew and the virus has not spread to any of the woman’s close contacts.

“With no additional cases in NSW over the last 30 days, the chief health officer has recommended that the risk of importation of COVID-19 from NSW is now very low,” Mr McGowan said.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan speaks to the media at Perth airport about opening the borders with other states. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tony McDonough

He declared “it is safe to continue our plans” to open the border to NSW.

A quarantine bungle in which two international travelers were able to escape quarantine in Sydney and fly to Melbourne until they were identified by authorities did not change the planned border opening.

Ahead of Mr McGowan’s announcement, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she didn’t think the bungle should impact the border plans.

She said the WA premier should “stick with” the timetable originally announced.

There’ll be no early release for NSW travellers currently in quarantine in WA; they will need to complete their full two-week isolation.

Mr McGowan also warned on Monday that any further outbreaks in eastern states could see WA’s “hard border” reimposed.

FREEDOM DAY IN NSW

A major easing of COVID restrictions comes into effect today just weeks before Christmas.

The new Public Health order will double the capacity of almost all venues, allow patrons to stand while drinking in a beer garden and allow 50 people onto dancefloors.

Announcing the changes last week, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet dubbed the easing of restrictions as “freedom day” allowing NSW residents to enjoy more freedoms in the wake of almost no community virus transmission.

Under the changes, a 2 sqm now applies to all venues except gyms and nightclubs, where a 4 sqm rule is still in place. The change will boost capacity of retail shops and offices.

Caps have also removed on hospitality venue bookings, corporate events, and religious services.

Justin Hemmes. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Patrons can stand while drinking at a hospitality venue, if they are outside.

Outdoor casual public gatherings of up to 100 people are now allowed and 5,000 people can attend outdoor events which are fenced, ticketed and use seating.

Indoor stadiums and theatres can now operate at 75 per cent capacity, while outdoor stadiums and venues can go back to full capacity.

The overhaul to boost capacity is set to instantly increase employment across the state

Hospitality magnate Justin Hemmes has described the new rules as an “absolute game-changer” for his industry.

“These changes will result in an immediate and substantial increase in employment and an enormous boon for business viability, while still keeping customers and staff safe,” he said.

The relaxation of previous rules which come into effect today is one of the most significant overhauls of the state’s COVID restrictions since they were put in place at the start of the pandemic.

NSW recorded another day without a community transmission case on Monday while four cases or coronavirus were reported in hotel quarantine.

Christmas celebrations at Manly. Picture: Phillip Rogers

Police at Sydney Domestic Airport Photo: Gaye Gerard

The 53-year-old woman and 15-year-old boy were initially directed to board a bus to hotel quarantine after being screened.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy said an officer had mistakenly thought they were exempt from quarantine and the pair were escorted by police to their Melbourne flight.

“There was communication issues and the police officer has admitted the mistake that he didn't check the appropriate exemption forms and the paperwork appropriately,” he said.

“The operation has been an astounding success really across the board and for this unfortunate incident to occur, it‘s a fair point and we should cop the criticism for it, but it’s been rectified and we’ll move on.”