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Health

WA records another COVID death as 3,602 new cases detected, with 122 people in hospital

A total of 9,222 PCR tests were undertaken yesterday. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

A woman aged in her 80s has become the 13th person to die with COVID-19 in Western Australia. 

It comes after the state recorded 3,602 new infections overnight, a drop from the 4,300 infections reported on Saturday, 5,005 on Friday and 4,535 on Thursday. 

Hospitalisations have jumped to 122, with five people in ICU.

Of the positive cases, 1,745 were confirmed by PCR tests, and the remaining 1,857 were from self-reported positive rapid antigen tests.

The state now has a total of 24,126 active cases.

Lower case numbers part of 'testing cycle'

Transport minister Rita Saffioti said the drop in case numbers reflected the poorer turnout at testing clinics on weekends.

Rita Saffioti says the government is keen to ease COVID restrictions as soon as possible.  (ABC News: James Carmody)

"The advice I've got is it's part of the testing cycle, in the fact that sometimes those tests aren't as high as during the week," she said.

"The real measure will be over the next two or three days, over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, to see whether those numbers stabilise or whether they jump up again."

The minister said WA Premier Mark McGowan was eager to ease public health restrictions back from level two when possible, but reiterated it was dependent on advice from the Chief Health Officer.

"We continually monitor everything," Ms Saffioti said.

A key factor in that decision-making will be vaccination rates.

More than 95 per cent of the WA population aged over 12 are double-dose vaccinated and the booster vaccination rate now stands at 70 per cent. 

"It's an incredible record, and a big thank you to all Western Australians for getting that third dose," Ms Saffioti said.

WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said on Saturday the state was expected to reach its peak of 10,000 cases a day in the next week

Will winter bring a COVID-19 onslaught?
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