Today was meant to be one of WA's most significant milestones during the pandemic.
Perth Airport, which had been expecting up to 80,000 travellers within the next two weeks, would have been filled with families reunited without the need to quarantine.
It was hoped international and interstate tourists, and university students, would start returning in their droves.
Businesses might have been breathing a sigh of relief at the prospect of staffing shortages easing.
But, after Premier Mark McGowan's late night press conference on January 20, that all came crashing down for those who do not meet the softened exemption requirements, or who cannot manage the new quarantine rules.
The immediate aftermath of that announcement was dominated by voices of displeasure, from business groups, families who had separated, and even the federal Australian Medical Association.
But others breathed a sigh of relief at the announcement, some because of medical conditions, others because they enjoy WA's largely COVID-free way of life.
Two weeks on from the announcement, how has the dust settled?
'Please don't let it crumble'
After battling through the last few years at the Lake Argyle Resort and Caravan Park, Charlie Sharpe had been hoping today would mark a turning point in WA's pandemic experience.
About 80 per cent of his business comes from interstate, with the resort closer to Brisbane than it is to Perth.
"We were so excited when February the fifth was announced in December because it gave us an actual playing field with set guidelines and we knew what we were up for," he said.
Mr Sharpe had been planning to bring in 28 staff from interstate between March and May to work the resort's busiest time of the year, but at least six have now pulled out because of the uncertainty, choosing jobs in Queensland and the Northern Territory instead.
He said while the resort receives job applications most days, the process of finding the right person can take some time.
"It's not so much about the position or the pay or what the job entails, but it's more about the lifestyle, the challenges of living in a remote location so far removed from the rest of the country," he said.
"Once you get there it can be quite unsettling with the challenges of travel, of getting in and out, of getting home to a family emergency on the other side of the country, the cost, the time required, the availability of flights."
Borders that have been in flux for the last two years have only added to those issues.
"We had more staff in 20 months than we've had in 16 years, purely because the challenges of working in the Kimberley and the uncertainty of borders," he said.
"People were very unsettled and we had to work hard through the last half of last year to stabilise the ship."
That has only been exacerbated by the announcement that WA's reopening had been delayed indefinitely.
"If another date was set we'd all be doubtful."
Fears WA will be months behind rest of the country
Rochelle Hosking runs a national catering businesses and remains in Canberra, where she was when she first heard the announcement.
It means her 25-year-old son Jack has been left to run the Perth branch alone, which has struggled with events being cancelled.
She said her initial fears had come true, with 90 per cent of the weddings they had booked between February and April now cancelled.
"We'd already brought lots of spits and spent lots and lots of money because we just had so many events to cater for," she said.
Ms Hosking had been hoping to travel to Perth on Monday after not seeing her son for the last year, including during a period he was ill last year.
Now, those plans have been pushed back indefinitely.
And while her company's east coast franchises are now over the hump and starting to recover, it's a different story in the west.
"Perth hasn't even stepped into that side yet," she said.
Ms Hosking would like to see WA find a middle ground, where both health and business concerns can be balanced.
"There's people that are losing their livelihoods, there's people that don't have anywhere to live," she said.
"We've had businesses that have closed down in Melbourne, they've lost their houses, they've lost their warehouses … but none of those things seem to be looked at."
Delay avoids 'horrifying' choices for people with disability
But Natalia Hodgins has a different perspective.
She has myalgic encephalomyelitis, a complex, multi-system disease which can bring severe fatigue, especially after doing everyday things.
It also means Ms Hodgins is immunocompromised, placing her at significant risk were she to contract COVID.
She said the delay to the reopening came as a relief.
"The thought of throwing open the borders to the rest of Australia when COVID is out of control was just terrifying to me," Ms Hodgins said.
"If I think about the things that I want from my political leaders, I want them to be reassessing the situation on a regular basis and making decisions that will keep me safe, and that's exactly what the WA state government has done.
For friends on the east coast who live with chronic illnesses or who are immunocompromised, the last two years have involved long stretches of either staying at home to avoid the virus or making "horrifying" choices.
"I've got friends who are having to make decisions about whether they go to hospital to get acute medical care, but knowing that they're going to be exposed to COVID when they go there," she said.
"These are people who have been isolating on and off for two years now, so that's just not a position that we should be putting people in."
It means WA, which has maintained low numbers of cases throughout the pandemic, has been a haven.
"I feel very grateful to live here in WA where the right precautions are being taken so that I can continue to access the healthcare services that I have to access," Ms Hodgins said.
But others are happy for WA's border to remain largely closed for other reasons.
"[I'm] happy for borders to remain closed for the moment as I believe it may assist us in managing the eventual arrival of Omicron," one ABC reader wrote.
"Many children are not yet fully vaccinated and extra time will help, as will the availability of RAT tests.
"What I have trouble accepting is the anger of some people who do not want to accept they can't just do as they want to."
Where to from here?
Like many, Ms Hosking is keen to hear a new date for WA's reopening, with the business she hoped it will bring.
"We definitely need that information, but we also need financial assistance to keep us afloat until we get these dates so that we can plan ahead," she said.
"We're not going to be able to survive for months and months and months unless the government come forward and give businesses like ours some sort of financial assistance."
But Ms Hodgins was not bothered by the lack of a date and would prefer the government take a fluid approach to the situation.
She was hopeful that Western Australia will be able to chart a different path out of the pandemic, both by increasing booster dose rates, and because more antivirals are starting to come onto the market.
"The longer the pandemic goes on the more tools we're going to have in our toolbox to support people who are high risk and make sure that they don't end up as just a statistic," she said.
Whereas other states had accepted high case loads, as well as hospitalisations and deaths, Ms Hodgins hoped WA would consider how people living with disability will be affected by increasing case numbers.
"I really think that we need to put things in perspective and take care of the people who need to be taken care of right now."
Speaking from Queensland, where he's currently managing his resort, Mr Sharpe said a date would be nice, but not necessarily enough.
"We need clarity on what happens after that date. What are the parameters? What are the triggers for what processes once it's open?" he said.
"It won't all be correct, there will be mistakes, there will be errors and there will be some slight change, but we just don't want any big surprises anymore."
Sporting clubs make headway despite border backdown
A number of WA sports teams are hopeful they will be able to play on home turf by the end of February.
WA's two AFLW teams are set to return after reportedly reaching agreements to play at Perth Stadium for three rounds from next weekend.
And Perth Glory chief executive Tony Pignata said a "fly-in-fly-out" arrangement with WA Police was close to being signed off.
"We're waiting to see the regulations and what that entails. Potentially we can come back and play some home games," he said.
But Mr Pignata said the possibility of playing in WA comes with its drawbacks.
"When we do have to fly out and come back, we'll have to quarantine another two weeks," he said.
Perth Wildcats coach Scott Morrison said there was still a lack of certainty after fixtures released on Friday meant the team would remain interstate until at least February 28.
"Getting that schedule maybe confused some of the guys as to what is really going on," he said.
"It's tough to get your hopes up. I really try not to get ahead of myself because I don't want to be disappointed, or disappoint the others."
