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Perth's mask mandate and hospitality COVID-19 restrictions will remain until January 4, with Western Australia recording one new case linked to an infected French backpacker.
Key points:
- Face masks will need to be worn indoors in public for another week
- Perth Cup patrons at Ascot on New Year's Day must also wear masks
- The new COVID case has been in quarantine since becoming infectious
The extended restrictions mean masks will remain mandatory in all public indoor settings, while nightclubs will be closed for New Year's Eve and major music festivals will be cancelled.
The face mask rules will be extended to cover the Perth Cup at Ascot on New Year's Day, with patrons also required to provide proof of vaccination for the first time at an event in the state.
The restrictions had been due to expire tomorrow morning but are continuing amid concerns COVID could still be spreading in the community.
The one new locally-acquired case is a woman aged in her 20s who is linked to the French backpacker at the centre of Perth's virus outbreak.
The woman has been in hotel quarantine since she became infectious, Premier Mark McGowan said.
"Given the high-risk nature of some of the exposure sites, we were expecting to see large numbers of positive cases," he said.
Tests not done on 86 close contacts
Mr McGowan said 608 close contacts of the positive cases had been identified, with 86 of those yet to be tested.
"Of the 86 yet to be tested, 39 were patrons from the Mess Hall event. This is something that is worrying as we cannot be 100 per cent sure that the Delta virus is not lingering in the community somewhere," he said.
WA Police are working to track down those contacts who are yet to be tested.
Mr McGowan said more than 29,000 COVID tests had been undertaken over the past four days.
"That is a good number, but it could be better," he said.
He urged anyone who had been to an exposure site to get tested immediately and isolate until they received a negative result.
WA Health Minister Amber Jade-Sanderson said contact tracers had been working hard over the festive period, with 808 close contacts identified.
She said it was encouraging to see people in Perth had been abiding by the COVID restrictions over the last few days.
But 39 people who partied at the Perth Mess Hall event attended by the French backpacker last Sunday still need to get tested.
More to come.
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