A protest will be held out the front of Parliament house on Tuesday against the vaccination mandates.
Mr McGowan said he urged those attending to be respectful.
“We respect the right to protest, but I just urge people to be respectful and peaceful in what they do it,” he said.
WA’s hard border has also come under fire from epidemiologists over the past week, who have questioned the benefit of keeping the state closed given Omicron is already spreading in the community.
In response, Mr McGowan said by comparison to other states, WA had low case numbers and hospitalisation rates due to the stricter border controls.
Loading
“It’s obviously worked and it continues to work, and whilst it is working, we’ve also had around 25,000 people come in safely over the course of the last 22 weeks, from the eastern states, who are quarantining and being tested,” he said.
“Those 25,000 people have reunited with families and caught up with friends… so that’s been a good outcome in a safe way.
“The border arrangement we have in place allows for family members to come in, subject to a week’s quarantine and secondly, it’s in place to protect the health and lives of West Australians.
“That’s what we’re trying to do whilst we get our third dose vaccination rate up.
“By the time we reopen the interstate and international borders will be one of the highest vaccinated places in the world. It’s one of the safest populations in the world, which is a great thing.”
Mr McGowan said the border was constantly being reviewed and that there would be an announcement sometime this month.
“The reality is though we are getting the third dose vaccination rate up, the eastern states appear to be coming off their peak which is a good thing,” he said.
“We’re getting children vaccinated, and everything we’re doing on every single day is saving many West Australian lives, which I think is important.”
Western Australia records 48 local COVID cases, 14 linked to travel
Source: Philippines Alive
