An already anxious public will tune in on Thursday night for a press conference from Premier Mark McGowan.
Medical professionals are frantically speculating as to whether this signals a shift to the state’s contentious February 5 opening date, or the emergence of a further COVID-19 cluster or exposure site that warrants immediate public attention.
WA Premier Mark McGowan.Credit:Peter de Kruijff
Earlier on Thursday in a press conference, Australian Nursing Federation state secretary Mark Olson said he would be surprised if Mr McGowan stuck to the February 5 opening date.
“That’s certainly not the Premier that I’ve been watching for the last two years,” he said.
Mr Olson repeated calls for the opening to be delayed given the fallout from this week’s “mystery case”, a man in his 60s who presented at Fiona Stanley Hospital’s emergency department, resulting in around 12 hospital staff being classified close contacts and forced into 14 days’ quarantine.
The man is now believed to be part of the massage parlour cluster that originated in Applecross and has now grown to at least 20 cases.
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Mr Olson said the nurses who came into contact with this patient had been wearing full PPE, had followed other protocols in taking only three minutes to triage him, and discarded their PPE correctly afterwards, but nevertheless had seen numerous mixed messaging from management.
First they were considered moderate contacts and would have to isolate two days; then they were told they were now considered a casual contact and needed COVID-19 tests; then, after receiving their negative results, they were told they were close contacts and would have to undergo the full 14 days’ isolation as per WA’s current close contact arrangements. All this had happened over numerous phone calls.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan calls 7.30pm press conference
Source: Philippines Alive
