Katanning Shire president Liz Guidera voices reservations about mask rule change, vaccine mandates

Katanning Shire president Liz Guidera has backed the continued use of masks to protect the community from COVID-19 — but she has questioned the need for WA’s vaccination mandates. The Great Southern region recorded 85 new cases of COVID on Tuesday, with 456 total active cases to 8pm Monday night — the lowest case numbers of any region. The State recorded a significant drop in the number of cases over the Easter period, with the number of new reported cases dropping from 7990 on Good Friday to 5605 on Easter Monday. However, in line with recent trends, testing rates across WA also dropped at the weekend from 11,499 PCR tests on Thursday to 5780 tests on Easter Sunday. It has now been a week since Premier Mark McGowan announced reduced COVID restrictions, bringing WA closer to restrictions seen in other states and territories. People are now only classified as close contacts and required to isolate for seven days if they are household members, intimate partners or someone who has spent more than four hours with a positive case in a residential setting without a mask. Ms Guidera said schools and families had felt the biggest inconvenience with COVID before last week’s changes. “Many kids have been close contacts and then whole families have had to isolate for a week,” she said. Mandatory QR code check-ins have also been scrapped at all WA venues, except for hospitals. WA’s 500-person venue cap has been lifted and gathering limits scrapped for home and private outdoor events. However two major restrictions remain in place. There have been calls by some for WA to drop its indoor mask restrictions, with Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas this month calling for the mandate to be dropped in time for Anzac Day. However, Ms Guidera expressed her reluctance about lifting the mask mandate in the current circumstances. “While COVID-19 is spreading around the community, I think the inconvenience of wearing masks indoors can be an easy protection for people,” she said. Proof of vaccination is still required for higher-risk venues such as pubs and restaurants. However, Ms Guidera is supportive of a recent push by the Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the requirement to be dropped. “In the current COVID-19 situation, those who are supportive of vaccination have been vaccinated, including those who feel they are at risk,” she said. “There are other people for whatever reason, including their own assessment of their health risk, that have chosen not to be vaccinated. “Not allowing them to go to cafes and other venues does not, to me, seem to be for any valid health reason, and it puts onerous requirements on hospitality staff to check vaccination status.” Ms Guidera said she also believed it was time to drop vaccination mandates for workers. “While I supported the State Government’s mandate for vaccinations that ensured key workers and industries would remain in operation, I see little advantage to continuing the mandates,” she said. In announcing the reduced restrictions last week, Premier Mark McGowan said WA’s high vaccination rates and public health measures have kept the community protected during the Omicron outbreak. “We don’t want any public health measure in place for any longer than it needs to be, but like always, we encourage everyone to be COVID safe and use common sense,” he said. “That means stay home if unwell, get tested if you have any symptoms, get vaccinated and continue to maintain good hygiene.”