Western Australia's COVID-19 case numbers are continuing to rise, but Premier Mark McGowan is sticking to his plan to ease the state's restrictions.
This will make life easier for many West Australians, who will be able to hold larger gatherings in and outside of their homes.
Businesses will be breathing a sigh of relief too, after almost a month of trying to stay afloat under tight capacity limits.
The Premier says the change is all possible because of the state's very high vaccination rates, which are keeping people out of hospital and intensive care units.
So what is changing from today? And what cost will that come at?
What are the new rules?
Among the biggest changes is the winding back of Safe WA. Checking in will now only be required at venues where proof of vaccination is already required.
As of midnight, all of Western Australia is subject to a new set of rules — not quite the level one restrictions from before, but close.
You'll be allowed to have 30 people in your home, up from 10, or 200 outdoors.
Cafes, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and function centres will still be kept to the 2-square-metre rule but can host up to 500 people.
Many other businesses will also keep the 2-square-metre rule, but without a cap, including:
- gyms and fitness venues
- entertainment venues
- galleries and museums
- places of worship
- hairdressers and beauty services
- Crown casino, including the gaming floor.
Forward-facing entertainment venues, such as theatres and cinemas, as well as major stadiums, will also return to 75 per cent capacity.
Masks also will not be required at outdoor events, including at big stadiums, and crowds will be allowed back at community sport.
What isn't changing?
Masks will still be required in many settings, including:
- most places indoors
- on public transport, in taxis and rideshare
- at hospitals, aged and disability care facilities.
That applies to everyone aged eight years or older or in year 3 and above in school settings.
Proof-of-vaccination requirements are also here to stay, with the Premier saying he is hoping they will continue to lift the state's high third-dose rate.
Hospital, aged and disability care visitor rules also remain the same, at two visitors each day.
Elective surgery will not change either. That means non-urgent category two and three surgeries are not happening at public hospitals and can only happen in the private system if they are same-day procedures, or require only an overnight stay.
What does the health advice say about this?
After a record number of daily cases yesterday, it might seem a bit odd to ease restrictions today.
But in the Chief Health Officer's latest advice, he gave two options: his preferred path and another choice.
"Level 2 PHSMs [public health social measures] should ideally not be downgraded … until a minimum of one week and, preferably, two weeks after the peak," Dr Andy Robertson told the Premier last Thursday.
"A transition to lowering PHSMs prior to the peak can be considered, in the full knowledge that this may have the effect of increasing cases and hospitalisations."
Dr Robertson then outlined the current level of restrictions, saying "if required, and deemed appropriate by government," the changes could be implemented from Thursday, March 31 — which he said, at the time, was "likely to be after the peak of cases".
He said that regardless, rules could move back to level one, including removing the 500-person cap at some venues, from two weeks after the peak.
How have the changes been received?
The Australian Medical Association's WA president, Mark Duncan-Smith is among those voicing concern at the shift, saying it is against the Chief Health Officer's advice.
"There are certain recommendations that he is recommending to mitigate the damage that decision will do," he said.
"The medical system and our doctors and nurses are tired, the system is under stress.
"The last thing we need is a large increase in numbers because restrictions have been removed too early."
Dr Duncan-Smith said the Premier should be ready to reintroduce restrictions as quickly as he dropped them if the situation worsens.
But answering questions on the issue yesterday, Mr McGowan said the relaxation was the right move, and that the health advice backed him.
"It was very clear. If required, and deemed appropriate, these measures could be put in place, and that's what we're doing," he said.
"Keeping in place restrictions on little mum-and-dad businesses and people trying to make a living and people trying to run restaurants and cafes and retail outlets in that environment, I think is unnecessary, apart from the baseline [restrictions] we're keeping in place."
That attitude has been backed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was happy to see the rules ease.
"Clearly the state government is mindful of the impact of those restrictions on the business sector," chief economist Aaron Morey said.
But he said a full recovery would only come when people were no longer required to wear masks.
When will the rules be relaxed further?
The Premier has already set April 14 as the date when the 500-person limit for hospitality venues will be scrapped.
Anything beyond that will depend on how the next few weeks play out.
Things are looking positive at the moment, with hospitalisations and ICU admissions far below what the government's modelling had predicted.
It remains to be seen, however, what impact today's easing will have on those figures.
But it's safe to say the government will be watching hospital and ICU admissions very closely before deciding its next move.
