Businesses in some of Western Australia's top tourist towns have had to shut their doors as too many staff have contracted COVID-19, and local cases peak to unprecedented levels.
A total of 1,002 new cases were reported in the South West holiday region on Tuesday, the highest daily total so far and an increase of 43 per cent on the day before.
It comes as statewide figures also continue to peak with more than 12,000 cases a day.
The food and wine region has seen a surge of visitors over the school holidays, as well as high-profile events like the Out of the Woods music festival and the Margaret River Pro surfing competition.
Dennis Ngo owns a Chinese restaurant near Busselton, 250 kilometres south of Perth, and had to shut his shop for a week due to staff illness.
Five of his kitchen staff, many of whom share accommodation, tested positive to COVID-19, though with minor symptoms.
He had to close his doors for Mother's Day, which was typically one of the restaurant's busiest days.
"As soon as we had that positive result we shut everything down for the good of the greater community."
Mr Ngo said the COVID-19 outbreak came after the business had been going extremely well, as visitor numbers surged in regional WA through the pandemic.
"We had been quite comfortable, I suppose, though COVID was always in the back of my mind because we'd essentially been COVID-free for so long," he said.
"So I suppose it caught us by surprise."
COVID-19 cases are impacting other workplaces with St Mary MacKillop College in Busselton announcing they will be temporarily closed for the day on May 23.
In a letter to parents, principal Frank Norton said an unprecedented number of COVID-19 infections had led to unsustainable pressures on teaching staff.
Mr Norton said the one-day closure would help teachers catch up with their workload.
End of mask mandate fuels complacency
Some business owners were concerned about public complacency now that almost all restrictions have been abolished.
Karen Cheah owns a pharmacy in Margaret River and said staff reported a customer, who had said on social media that they had COVID-19, turned up in the shop without a mask.
Ms Cheah said she would continue to encourage all staff and customers to wear masks, despite the end of the mask mandate.
A popular restaurant in Bunbury also had to stop accepting walk-ins and halt take-away service, as staff shortages overwhelmed the kitchen.
No ICU cases in the regions
WA's health department would not release a breakdown of COVID-19 hospitalisations, outside the metropolitan area.
But WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said no-one with COVID-19 was in intensive care in the region, despite the high number of cases.
She said it made sense that COVID-19 numbers in the South West were high, given its relatively high population, compared to other regional areas.
"There's also a lot of people moving in and out of the South West for various events," she said, adding that hospitalisations had remained steady across the state.
