❓ Mrs. Harvey asks the Premier about the criteria for lifting the COVID-19 state of emergency. The Premier responds that it will remain in place while the threat exists, particularly due to returning Australians requiring quarantine.
AnsweredQoN 387Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
STATE OF EMERGENCY — EXTENSION
387. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I thank
the Premier for his response. Could the Premier please outline the criteria for
the state of emergency being lifted—is it once the curve has been
flattened, once COVID-19 is eradicated or some other criteria?
STATE OF EMERGENCY — EXTENSION
387. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I thank
the Premier for his response. Could the Premier please outline the criteria for
the state of emergency being lifted—is it once the curve has been
flattened, once COVID-19 is eradicated or some other criteria?
AnswerView source ↗
We do and have had a public health
emergency the likes of which we have not seen for 100 years, so the state of
emergency will continue whilst the threat is there. I make another point that I
perhaps should have made earlier. We understand that currently 25 000
Australians are living overseas, and over 16 000 of those Australians living overseas are trying to come home. When they come
home, Perth is a gateway city—Perth and Sydney are the gateway cities of Australia. People will need to be quarantined, and in order to
quarantine them, we need to have hotels and we
need to have the power of direction. So whilst there is this significant threat
vector for the introduction of the virus of Australians returning home,
we need to keep the state of emergency in place. That is another measure we
need to keep in place. There are many other measures we need to keep in place,
but that is a particularly important one. Over the weekend, we found that a group
coming back from Doha—they were not in Doha, but that is where the flight came from—was COVID-19 positive,
and they were required to be quarantined, as was everyone on the flight .
People on every international fight that comes in are required to be
quarantined in hotels or on Rottnest Island. While that requirement is there—I
think it will be there for a considerable time to come—the state of
emergency will be in place. The advice about
16 000 Australians overseas trying to get home is the latest we have. I would
not be surprised if there were more than that over time, because
tracking Australians who live overseas is very hard. There are a great many of
them. If we think about the fact that Perth takes more than our fair share,
there will be an ongoing requirement for quarantine in hotels.
emergency the likes of which we have not seen for 100 years, so the state of
emergency will continue whilst the threat is there. I make another point that I
perhaps should have made earlier. We understand that currently 25 000
Australians are living overseas, and over 16 000 of those Australians living overseas are trying to come home. When they come
home, Perth is a gateway city—Perth and Sydney are the gateway cities of Australia. People will need to be quarantined, and in order to
quarantine them, we need to have hotels and we
need to have the power of direction. So whilst there is this significant threat
vector for the introduction of the virus of Australians returning home,
we need to keep the state of emergency in place. That is another measure we
need to keep in place. There are many other measures we need to keep in place,
but that is a particularly important one. Over the weekend, we found that a group
coming back from Doha—they were not in Doha, but that is where the flight came from—was COVID-19 positive,
and they were required to be quarantined, as was everyone on the flight .
People on every international fight that comes in are required to be
quarantined in hotels or on Rottnest Island. While that requirement is there—I
think it will be there for a considerable time to come—the state of
emergency will be in place. The advice about
16 000 Australians overseas trying to get home is the latest we have. I would
not be surprised if there were more than that over time, because
tracking Australians who live overseas is very hard. There are a great many of
them. If we think about the fact that Perth takes more than our fair share,
there will be an ongoing requirement for quarantine in hotels.
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