❓ The Minister for Health updates the house on the government's COVID-19 management, highlighting the DETECT program for testing in schools and FIFO workers, and comparing WA's statistics to other states.
AnsweredQoN 276Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
276. Mr M. HUGHES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to Western Australia's
success in flattening the curve and the work that continues to be undertaken to
contain the spread of COVID-19. Can the minister update the house on how the
government is continuing to manage cases of COVID-19 and ensure that Western Australia
is well placed to responds to any outbreaks?
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
276. Mr M. HUGHES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to Western Australia's
success in flattening the curve and the work that continues to be undertaken to
contain the spread of COVID-19. Can the minister update the house on how the
government is continuing to manage cases of COVID-19 and ensure that Western Australia
is well placed to responds to any outbreaks?
AnswerView source ↗
I would like to thank the member for
Kalamunda for the question and for his support for the government in its
efforts to respond to COVID-19. Indeed, I want to thank everyone in the
community for continuing to observe the social distancing measures we need to
undertake and for their patience during this uncertain time. I also want to
thank the Chief Health Officer and those across our health system who are
providing great advice and guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. I thank them
for the information they use to continue to inform the government on our
COVID-19 response.
It is true to say that we are also
informed by the evidence of our testing program and I note the important role
it plays in making sure that our response to COVID-19 is effective. Our testing
regime has been expanded along the way to ensure that we identify positive
cases and isolate them to prevent the spread. The latest development of the
testing regime is the McGowan government's DETECT program. This
initiative has brought together some of Western Australia's leading
researchers and asked them to design a population study to examine the
prevalence of COVID-19 in key sectors of our community. We are partnering with
Telethon Kids Institute in a study to test for COVID-19 amongst school students
and staff without symptoms. The study, involving schools, will also provide
greater certainty around possible transmission of disease in our school
community.
Although there is currently no
evidence of community spread within our schools and they are considered
low-risk environments, it is hoped that the DETECT study will assist in
developing even stronger evidence for and stronger community confidence in
these policy decisions. Initially, 80 public schools, education and support
centres and residential colleges in metropolitan and regional WA will
participate. The participating schools reflect a range of socioeconomic, educational
and cultural backgrounds. Of course, participation in the program is voluntary.
We are also partnering with our
major resources companies and leading researchers to roll out COVID-19 testing
amongst fly in, fly out workers. The DETECT FIFO program is a joint initiative
between the Department of Health and the research community. We are working
with Curtin University, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and
mining and resources companies. It is expected that nearly 30 000 tests will be
conducted during the life of the project. The DETECT FIFO project is funded by
industry and endorsed by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, and we thank it
for its leadership and participation.
I reiterate that although there is
no evidence of community spread of COVID-19, it is hoped that the DETECT
program will further assist in building a stronger evidence base and community
confidence for us to go forward. It is important to remember that we are
continuing to test more and more people as we go forward. We have now conducted
more than 56 000 tests, and WA has the second-lowest national rate of locally
acquired COVID-19 cases. In the most recent data, from between 1 May and 7 May,
Western Australia had a testing rate of 515 tests per 100 000 head of population.
This was greater than that of Queensland, the ACT, the Northern Territory and
South Australia. Only Tasmania and Victoria were ahead of us in this regard,
and we know about the issues they are confronting. New South Wales was also
slightly ahead of Western Australia.
Tellingly, each state has its own
experience of COVID-19, and I want to provide two further stats to the chamber
to help inform it about our particular experience. Sixty-eight per cent of
South Australia's COVID-19 cases were from overseas. In Western Australia,
with Perth as a gateway city to Australia, 85 per cent of our cases were
acquired from overseas. Logically, more than 32 per cent of South Australia's
cases were acquired locally, whereas only 15 per cent of ours were acquired
locally. This really informs us about how effective we have been in making sure
that we are on top of any localised spread. Overseas travel continues to be the
biggest source of all our COVID-19 cases, which is why the quarantining and
hard border policies that we put in place have been so effective in making sure
that we enjoy very low numbers of COVID-19.
Kalamunda for the question and for his support for the government in its
efforts to respond to COVID-19. Indeed, I want to thank everyone in the
community for continuing to observe the social distancing measures we need to
undertake and for their patience during this uncertain time. I also want to
thank the Chief Health Officer and those across our health system who are
providing great advice and guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. I thank them
for the information they use to continue to inform the government on our
COVID-19 response.
It is true to say that we are also
informed by the evidence of our testing program and I note the important role
it plays in making sure that our response to COVID-19 is effective. Our testing
regime has been expanded along the way to ensure that we identify positive
cases and isolate them to prevent the spread. The latest development of the
testing regime is the McGowan government's DETECT program. This
initiative has brought together some of Western Australia's leading
researchers and asked them to design a population study to examine the
prevalence of COVID-19 in key sectors of our community. We are partnering with
Telethon Kids Institute in a study to test for COVID-19 amongst school students
and staff without symptoms. The study, involving schools, will also provide
greater certainty around possible transmission of disease in our school
community.
Although there is currently no
evidence of community spread within our schools and they are considered
low-risk environments, it is hoped that the DETECT study will assist in
developing even stronger evidence for and stronger community confidence in
these policy decisions. Initially, 80 public schools, education and support
centres and residential colleges in metropolitan and regional WA will
participate. The participating schools reflect a range of socioeconomic, educational
and cultural backgrounds. Of course, participation in the program is voluntary.
We are also partnering with our
major resources companies and leading researchers to roll out COVID-19 testing
amongst fly in, fly out workers. The DETECT FIFO program is a joint initiative
between the Department of Health and the research community. We are working
with Curtin University, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and
mining and resources companies. It is expected that nearly 30 000 tests will be
conducted during the life of the project. The DETECT FIFO project is funded by
industry and endorsed by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, and we thank it
for its leadership and participation.
I reiterate that although there is
no evidence of community spread of COVID-19, it is hoped that the DETECT
program will further assist in building a stronger evidence base and community
confidence for us to go forward. It is important to remember that we are
continuing to test more and more people as we go forward. We have now conducted
more than 56 000 tests, and WA has the second-lowest national rate of locally
acquired COVID-19 cases. In the most recent data, from between 1 May and 7 May,
Western Australia had a testing rate of 515 tests per 100 000 head of population.
This was greater than that of Queensland, the ACT, the Northern Territory and
South Australia. Only Tasmania and Victoria were ahead of us in this regard,
and we know about the issues they are confronting. New South Wales was also
slightly ahead of Western Australia.
Tellingly, each state has its own
experience of COVID-19, and I want to provide two further stats to the chamber
to help inform it about our particular experience. Sixty-eight per cent of
South Australia's COVID-19 cases were from overseas. In Western Australia,
with Perth as a gateway city to Australia, 85 per cent of our cases were
acquired from overseas. Logically, more than 32 per cent of South Australia's
cases were acquired locally, whereas only 15 per cent of ours were acquired
locally. This really informs us about how effective we have been in making sure
that we are on top of any localised spread. Overseas travel continues to be the
biggest source of all our COVID-19 cases, which is why the quarantining and
hard border policies that we put in place have been so effective in making sure
that we enjoy very low numbers of COVID-19.
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