Two truck drivers bring Covid from NSW to WA, four contacts identified

Two truckies have inadvertently brought Covid-19 across the country, potentially putting AFL Grand Final plans in doubt.

Two truck drivers from NSW have tested positive for Covid-19 in Western Australia, with four contacts identified so far including someone in Perth.

Premier Mark McGowan made the announcement on Friday after national cabinet, saying the situation emerged while he was in the meeting.

Mr McGowan said the 29-year-old and 23-year-old men were tested in NSW on Wednesday as part of routine testing of freight drivers who cross state borders.

They both had one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and wore masks while outside their truck.

They came to WA via Victoria and South Australia, arriving at a warehouse in the Perth suburb of Kewdale on Thursday night.

Premier Mark McGowan says the men had contact with four people. Picture: Colin Murty/The Australian

On their way, they stopped at the Yellowdine Roadhouse near Southern Cross, a service station in Norseman and at the South Australia/WA border checkpoint.

They interacted with four people at those locations who have been forced into quarantine.

“The advice is have is that is all it is at this point in time, which is great news,” the Premier told reporters.

“The people in question obviously interacted in the course of the last day or so with these two truck drivers, so there’s no prospect that they could be infectious because it takes a little period of time for the virus to develop in your system.

“The fact they’re now in quarantine and being managed is good and that means the risk, according to the advice I have from the chief health officer, is very low.”

The drivers slept in their truck last night, received their tests results via text this morning, which they passed on to their employer and WA Health was then notified.

The men are mildly symptomatic and quarantining at the Westin Hotel in the CBD, where they will be re-tested.

The truckies are quarantining at The Westin hotel in the Perth CBD. Picture: Ross Swanborough.

“They have done nothing wrong, these two truck drivers,” Mr McGowan said.

“We were able to take action very quickly.”

But he warned it was still an evolving situation.

“And as we know, things can change quickly. We’re continuing to monitor it very closely.

“What this shows is how insidious the Covid-19 virus is, it continues to run rampant around us.

“We’ve always known that Covid could seep into Western Australia at any time. That is why we have constantly been modifying our border arrangements with other states.”

NSW is now classed in WA’s “extreme risk” category, the only time that has been used, effective yesterday.

From a plane of 20 passengers that arrived on Thursday, four people were refused entry and put into hotel quarantine.

Perth’s Optus Stadium was this week named by the AFL as its first-choice venue for the Grand Final on September 25 if holding the match at the MCG proves unfeasible due to Melbourne’s Covid-19 outbreak.

However, Mr McGowan and Police Commissioner Chris Dawson say it would only happen under strict guidelines, with no compromise to the health and safety of the local community.

Originally published as Two truck drivers bring Covid from NSW to WA, four contacts identified