Calls to relax border entry ‘mad’, says WA Premier Mark McGowan

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has slammed calls to loosen restrictions on inter­national arrivals as ‘mad’, amid a rise in returned overseas travellers infected with COVID-19.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan. Picture: Tony McDonough

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has slammed calls to loosen restrictions on inter­national arrivals as “mad”, amid a rise in returned overseas travellers infected with COVID-19.

With daily international infection rates continuing to climb, led by a growing surge of cases in India, Mr McGowan said apparent deficiencies in international testing of passengers ahead of their return presented a real danger to Australia.

“There is a serious risk and this is one of the riskiest periods we are facing since the height of the virus in the first half of last year, simply because of the numbers of returning Australians who are positive,” he said.

Scott Morrison last week flagged the possibility of returned vaccinated travellers going into quarantine at home as the next step in allowing more Australians into the country.

Mr McGowan said the risks were too high to consider any easing of restrictions.

“These calls from NSW to bring down the international borders are mad,” he said.

“I don’t understand why they are pursuing this. Haven’t they seen what’s happening in India?

“Haven’t they seen what’s happening in Britain?

“Haven’t they seen what’s happening in France? In Brazil?

“Bringing down international borders at this time, or having reduced measures where people just quarantine at home en masse when they return from overseas is a recipe for disaster.”

While WA has not had a case of community transmission of the virus in more than a year, 28 COVID-positive cases are in Perth’s six quarantine hotels — a sharp increase from the single-digit figures earlier this year.

Mr McGowan flagged concerns about the integrity of pre-flight COVID testing required of each traveller before they returned to Australia.

“You are meant to be COVID-negative before you get on the plane, and yet we keep having lots of people coming in who are COVID-positive,” he said. “I don’t know why that’s occurring, I don’t know if people are providing fraudulent certificates, I don’t know if they’re getting COVID on the aircraft.”