CORONAVIRUS —
COMMUNITY CASE
335. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Can
the Premier advise the house what numbers will cause concern and what will
happen if we start to see positive results? Will masks be required? Is the
government already considering that if the situation escalates, in order to
protect the community?
Mr M. McGOWAN
replied:
We
sought the advice of the Chief Health Officer on those matters this afternoon.
We had an emergency management team meeting at 1.30 this afternoon.
Obviously, it depends on the circumstances. The last time we had a lockdown,
whenever that was—six weeks ago—I recall that we had perhaps
four community cases and we decided to impose a lockdown. We managed to crush
and kill the virus in Western Australia. At this point, we have had one
positive—weak. According to medical
advice, there is the prospect that this guy was not infectious because he was COVID-positive last year. This complicates matters.
On return from overseas last year, he was COVID-positive. The chances
are or the prospect is that he is not infectious, but we do not know, so that
is why we are cautious. Whether we put further measures in place, like
lockdowns, mask wearing or the like, depends on circumstances and medical
advice. We will monitor the situation carefully today and tomorrow. Obviously,
we are highly sensitive and very cautious about these matters and will do
whatever is required.