Western Australia has recorded 19 new local cases of COVID-19 overnight as schools around the state grapple with the first cases of the virus, sending students and staff into isolation.
Atwell College in Perth's south has become the fourth school to record a case of COVID-19, with a year 12 student testing positive.
WA Department of Education director-general Lisa Rodgers said the College had contacted families and staff on Thursday afternoon to notify them of the case.
"An online learning program for impacted students is in place ready for tomorrow," she said.
"Support is available to ensure there is minimal disruption to year 12 students' learning."
But Premier Mark McGowan said the state would not be changing its strict isolation rules surrounding COVID cases in schools for now.
Meanwhile, his decision to keep WA's borders closed has received support from an unlikely source — Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who said today he realised WA was facing a different situation to other states.
Asked if Mr McGowan had done the right thing by deferring the reopening, Mr Morrison told Nine Radio: "Yeah, I think he did."
Of the new WA cases, 16 are related to known clusters and 15 have been isolating, but three others are being investigated and were infectious while in the community.
One person remains in hospital.
A further 10 travel-related cases were also recorded, while 7,679 people were tested yesterday.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases at three Perth schools have forced around 400 students and dozens of staff members into isolation for two weeks, just days into the new school term.
The situation has prompted calls for WA to reduce the isolation period for close contacts of COVID cases in schools for seven days.
Mr McGowan told ABC Radio Perth the current approach was the right one, until case numbers grow.
Students, schools respond to cases
Lines of people grew outside Fiona Stanley Hospital's COVID clinic last night as parents took their children to get tested.
Three schools recorded COVID-19 cases on Wednesday — Winterfold Primary School, Harrisdale Senior High School and Corpus Christi College.
Catholic Education WA (CEWA) confirmed the exposure at Corpus Christi had led to 212 students and 17 teachers being classified as close contacts, all of whom have been directed to self-isolate at home for 14 days.
A CEWA spokeswoman said affected staff would be providing online lessons from home to the isolating students during their quarantine.
The Premier said the number of schools affected in WA was minor compared to elsewhere around the country.
"Other states have had months and months and months of all their schools being closed," he said.
"Queensland, all their schools are currently closed for two weeks."
'Little evidence' to support two-week isolation: AMA WA
Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith questioned whether there was reliable medical advice behind the state's persistence with 14-days of quarantine for close contacts.
Dr Duncan-Smith said globally evidence showed there was less than one per cent chance of someone turning from a negative to a positive COVID case during a second week of quarantine.
"There is very little evidence in the medical literature to support the position of two weeks, and that's why we're greatly concerned that the Chief Health Officer's advice is not being followed by the Premier," he said.
"There has not been a single case in Western Australia where a patient has turned from negative to positive in the second week of quarantine."
He said the only time that has happened has been when there were breaches of quarantine, and the otherwise negative person was exposed to a positive person during the second week.
With hundreds of Perth school students now in two weeks of quarantine, Dr Duncan-Smith said the government should urgently change the isolation period for close contacts to seven days with entry and exit testing requirements.
"The government is clearly not going for a COVID-zero policy, and nor does the AMA in WA support that," he said.
"The second week of quarantine or furloughing is doing social and economic damage with very little if any benefit and we call on the government to reduce this to seven days for the children."
Dr Duncan-Smith said if the Chief Health Officer is advising 14-days of isolation for close contacts, he must publicly explain his reasons.
'We're a victim of our success': Premier
Mr McGowan said he understood people were "agitated" about 14 days of quarantine versus seven days elsewhere.
"It will eventually move to seven-day quarantining," he said.
"But at this point in time, because we have very low case numbers, we take a precautionary approach."
The Premier said he did not want to disrupt the school year "too much before we need to".
"We've been so lucky, in many ways we're a victim of our own success," he said.
"These things are big shocks to people."
Parents affected by isolation rules
Education Minister Sue Ellery told ABC Radio Perth on Wednesday that only close contacts of a positive case need to quarantine for 14 days — not members of the close contact's household.
But parents and carers are likely to end up in self-isolation too.
"The caveat to that is where there is a parent who is caring for a close contact, say for example a young child," she said.
"That parent will need to complete self-isolation, along with the child, but not everyone in the household needs to."
The state government has flagged new contact definitions and shorter isolation periods will come into play at schools, but when that will be remains unclear.
The changes will be rolled out when WA reaches a 'very high caseload environment', as deemed by the Chief Health Officer.
Mr McGowan said there could not be a "hard and fast" rule on how many cases would trigger this move.
"There's not a figure, it's a combination of all those things you have to deal with," he said.
PM says WA's experience is different
While supporting Mr McGowan's closed border call, the Prime Minister declined to weigh in on whether he thought it would be safe to open the border.
"Well, I'm saying that is the Premier's call … and he has to make that decision based on what he thinks his health system is ready to absorb," he said.
Mr Morrison said the east coast was "living with the virus" and that included easing isolation protocols for close contacts to seven days.
But he said he respected that WA was in a different situation and had learned from the experiences of other states.
"We're living with it here and our experience in the east has been different to the west, and the west has done incredibly well. And I commend Mark for that and the work that we have done together," he said.
"We're working together right now on the challenges to do with the rail line that's washed out, I appreciate the strong cooperation we've had on that.
"We always work together to try and solve these problems and understand that it is different in the west."
Federal election 'not a contest with McGowan'
Mr Morrison also told listeners of the WA-based radio show the federal election would not be a contest between him and Mr McGowan.
"On the other side of the election, whichever way you're voting, Mark McGowan is the Premier the next day. It's not a state election, it's a federal election, it's about who do you want to be Prime Minister," he said.
"You've got Mark McGowan, he was strongly supported at the last election, and he is Premier either way the next day, and we've always worked very well together."
"It's been good to have him around the table and to have that perspective, and for the eastern states to understand that perspective, so that it's not just me standing up for Western Australia."
The Prime Minister also commended West Australians for the state's high levels of vaccination.
No border opening date set
Mr McGowan gave no indication of a new border reopening date.
"Obviously we'll set a date, [but] when it's appropriate to do so," he said.
Mr McGowan said people needed to "get a little bit of perspective" about the COVID-19 situation in WA compared to other states.
"When I talk to other Premiers and people in the eastern states, most of them wish they'd had our situation over the last two years instead of theirs," he said.
"I know some people want us to rush decisions. I've found rushing decisions on this to be unwise."
The Premier said he understood many people were concerned about their booster vaccination waning, but many others had not yet had an opportunity to have a third dose.
"We have to be fair on people and give people the opportunity," he said.
He also said the state would not just open up, record cases and then go back to normal.
"The chances are you'll get a wave [of cases] when we open, but it may not be the last wave," he said.
