WA’s Omicron wave is continuing its upward trajectory, with 177 local cases announced on Thursday.
WA Health said there were a total of 189 new cases detected in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, of which just 12 were travel-related.
It brings the number of active cases state-wide to 574. There are still no COVID patients in hospital.
Today’s new cases include 33 self-reported positive rapid antigen tests. There were also just over 7500 PCR swabs conducted.
Daily local cases numbers have increased steadily over the past week.
There were 37 local cases last Thursday, followed by 51 (February 11), 26 (February 12), 38 (February 13), 62 (February 14), 48 (February 15) and 115 (February 16).
Meanwhile, five residents of the Juniper Cygnet aged care facility who previously tested COVID positive have now fully recovered.
As of Thursday morning, there are five residents and four staff who are COVID positive, reducing the number of cases in the outbreak from 14 to nine.
Before the new daily record was announced, Mark McGowan said: “What yesterday showed is there’s going to be growth case numbers here in Western Australia of Omicron and what that says is go and get your third dose.
“Please go and get your third dose. The way to protect yourself is to get your third dose.
“First dose is now incredibly high, our second dose is amazingly high. Our third dose is growing each day but we just need people to go and get a third dose as case numbers climb.”
Opposition leader Mia Davies blasted the Premier for his refusal to set a new reopening date or release the Government’s Omicron modelling.
“We’ve had our first week back of Parliament for 2022 and what we have observed is a Premier that is arrogant, secretive and is fast losing the trust of the people of Western Australia,” she said.
“We’ve asked multiple questions as an Opposition in relation to health modeling, we’ve tried to determine what thresholds the public would need to meet in terms of third vaccinations, children vaccination rates, the infection rates in the Eastern States that the Permian says it’s going towards helping to make a decision to reopen our borders. None of that has been forthcoming.
“This is a Premier that has either not done the work or is unwilling to share it or paralysed by indecision. Either way, the people of Western Australia deserve more, having done everything this Premier and Government has asked over the last two years.”
It comes as public hospitals in Perth and Peel, the Wheatbelt, South West and Great Southern were moved to a “full amber alert” on Thursday.
Amber — which means WA is “COVID alert” — is the second of four stages in the health system’s plan to cope with the looming wave of Omicron infections.
Under the elevated risk rating, personal protective equipment and testing rules for hospital staff and patients are tightened.
Red alert will be declared once there is widespread transmission of the virus, followed lastly by black alert when the system is at capacity.
The Pilbara transitions to “interim amber” on Thursday, while the Kimberley, Mid West and Goldfields are set to move to this rating on February 21.