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WA restrictions ease as Premier urges community to stay vigilant

A new relaxation of Western Australia's COVID-19 restrictions have come in to place as of midnight (2am AEST) but Premier Mark McGowan is urging the community to stay vigilant.

"It's about wearing a mask, it's about doing the right thing, it's about ensuring you follow all the rules and precautions we are putting in place," he said.

He said the new level of restrictions will remain in place for the next week.

READ MORE: New Zealand travel bubble breach as Cook Islands traveller flies to Perth

WA Premier Mark McGowan takes off his mask.

Masks will remain mandatory indoors and on public transport in the WA capital and neighbouring Peel region but many other restrictions will be significantly eased as planned.

Cafes and restaurants will return to "pretty much business as usual" but hospitality venues must comply with either the two-square-metre rule or 75 per cent capacity; nightclubs can reopen but will be forced to comply with the four-square-metre rule.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands allowed at AFL derby as WA eases COVID-19 restrictions

Outdoor community sport can return with spectators and the local AFL derby at Perth Stadium on Sunday can host a 75 per cent crowd. Meanwhile, indoor fitness venues, dance studios and gyms can all reopen too, with mask requirements.

Gatherings inside at home will be limited to 30 people, funerals can be enlarged to 200 guests and outdoor gatherings could go ahead for up to 500 people without a COVID-19 event plan.

All elective surgeries will resume and patient visit restrictions have been eased slightly.

While there are no new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 in the state today, there was a trans-Tasman bubble glitch.

A passenger on board an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Perth was discovered to be "ineligible for quarantine-free travel to Australia".

It is understood a man flew from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands to Auckland on Thursday before taking the 10.30am flight to Perth on Friday.

New Zealand has a one-way bubble system with the Cook Islands, meaning people aren't require to isolate on arrival but they are required to stay in NZ for at least 14 days before transiting to another country, which didn't happen in this case.

READ MORE: WA Premier defends strict lockdown by comparing it to NSW model

It's understood the airline realised the breach and reported it to authorities about an hour into the flight.

"We are working with the relevant authorities on both sides of the Tasman and will follow their guidance," Air New Zealand said in a statement.

"The next steps for this passenger will be determined by the Western Australia authorities."

Perth lockdown

Since the start of the snap three-day lockdown across the WA capital and neighbouring region last week, there have been more than 53,000 coronavirus tests conducted across Western Australia in what Mr McGowan called "a great result".

"People have taken it seriously," he said.

However, he urged people with symptoms to continue to come forward, noting that WA is still in the incubation period since the latest outbreak, sparked by an infectious Victorian man who spent five days travelling around Perth and Peel.

Western Australia has halved the number of returned overseas travellers coming into the state this month as it grapples with its latest outbreak and Mr McGowan has flagged that could become a more permanent reduction.

The Premiere was forced to defended his decision last week to send Perth and Peel into a snap three-day lockdown, saying it remained preferable to months of lower-grade restrictions.

Perth lockdown

"Lockdowns are a method that does help prevent the spread of the virus very quickly, and it gets the matter over with as quickly as we possibly can," he said.

"The Western Australia model has been we try and prevent the virus from coming in, with borders. If we have any spread of the virus we try and kill it quickly. That's a far better model than allowing the virus to linger in the community."

He claimed that Western Australia had done "better than any other state in Australia" at keeping the virus out and he would continue to pursue that strategy.

He pointed to the outbreak on Sydney's Northern Beaches as an example of an outbreak where extended measures restricted residents' movement and cost the economy.

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A&B: Even Vaccinated, Travelers Will Still Need to Quarantine

By Orville Williams

Antigua Observer- Passengers arriving in Antigua and Barbuda will now be allowed to complete only one week of quarantine – instead of the previous two weeks – once they can prove that they have been fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19.

The Cabinet announced that adjustment to the regulations yesterday, joining many countries around the world that are allowing increased freedoms to people who have been vaccinated against the virus.

Along with valid proof of their two-dose, or in the case of some, single dose vaccinations, incoming travelers will be expected to provide a negative Covid-19 PCR test on arrival at the VC Bird International Airport, before being placed into a mandatory seven-day quarantine.

On the fifth day of the quarantine, each traveler will be required to take another PCR test and will then be allowed into the population after completing the seven days if the test returns negative. If the test should return positive, the individual will be isolated as per the existing quarantine protocols.

This will come as welcome news to nationals who reside abroad and residents who travel frequently, as many have complained that the two-week quarantine was not only expensive, but also inconvenient for those looking to do business.

Tourists, however, would still be allowed to “quarantine” at their hotels, which are still considered bio-secure facilities.

Concerns have been raised about the rush to travel, given the sustained periods of lockdown in many countries, and the fact that some unscrupulous persons may look to exploit the allowances being given by countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, by producing falsified vaccination documentation.

Considering this recent change in the regulations, Cabinet Spokesperson and Information Minister, Melford Nicholas, was questioned how the authenticity of that vaccine information would be determined.

He explained that the ‘vaccine passport’ concept would be relied on in the long term, with countries having digital access to the information that is, for now, largely being produced through a physical document.

“[This] is certainly an issue for all jurisdictions, [and] what is being contemplated is a global repository…where one would be able to access the information, to validate or authenticate the presentation of a physical document,” he said.

Until that is finalised and put in place though, Nicholas said the country will rely upon the experience of the port health personnel, who he says would have been gathering that experience since earlier in the pandemic.

“As of last June, when we opened the borders, the port health would have aggregated some experience, in terms of being able to filter some of these false representations and they will build upon that.

“It’s the same thing that a computer model will do – referring to artificial intelligence – they will look at past experiences and look at these flaws.

“The real foolproof mechanism, [however], would be to be able to be participating in a global vaccine passport.”

Nicholas added that the vaccine information will likely be linked through the International Air Transport Association (IATA) platform – which is accessed by border authorities globally – to ensure that authorities in each receiving country can view data from the country of origin, toward authenticating any vaccination information presented by a traveller on arrival.

 

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ILO: Solidarity is key to Our Common Survival and Prosperity

May 1-International Labour Day

In a statement issued to mark May Day, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, calls on workers, employers, governments, international organizations and all who are committed to building back better, to join forces to bring in a world of work with justice and dignity for all.

Date issued: 30 April 2021 | Size/duration: 2:55

This year we again celebrate May Day, International Workers’ Day, under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has devastated the world of work, destroying jobs, enterprises and livelihoods, throwing millions into poverty and global development into reverse.

And like most crises, it has hit the weakest and the most vulnerable, the hardest, making an unequal world even more unequal.
The pandemic and its consequences are a stark reminder of global interdependence.
That applies to health as much as it does to our working lives.
  • No one is safe until everyone is safe.
  • No one can afford to be indifferent to the situation of others in the face of the fragility of the interdependent world that we have constructed.
  • Solidarity is key to our common survival and prosperity, within borders and across borders.
As we deal with today’s crisis and look to the future, one thing is clear: we need a human-centred recovery, with justice and equity, a recovery that is sustainable and inclusive of all.
Building back better means making deliberate and coherent policy choices:
  • to generate jobs and do a short, decent working conditions for everybody;
  • to extend social protection;
  • to protect workers’ rights; and
  • to use social dialogue.
 And on this May Day, we recall historic struggles that brought hard-won gains.
Today, again, extraordinary sacrifices are being made by people in the world of work to beat COVID-19.
We salute them, just as we mourn those whose have lost their lives, but, we must never sacrifice our values of social justice, nor our fundamental rights at work, nor our determination to build the better future which, is the meaning and the purpose of those who have celebrated May Day around the world for so many years.
In many ways, the pandemic has brought darkness to our lives and made that task more difficult.
Yet, it has also brought new possibilities that we can and must pursue.
The flux of crisis gives us space to rethink, make new choices and new commitments for people, for planet and for prosperity.
On this International Labour Day, the ILO calls on workers, employers, governments and international organizations, everybody committed to building back better, to join forces, to bring in a world of work with justice and dignity for all.

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Haiti: Kidnapped Catholics, Others Freed

HT- At least nine people kidnapped were set free separately on Thursday in Port-au-Prince, including the six remaining Catholics that “400 Mawozo” gang members took hostage earlier this month.

Reports did not mention whether a ransom was paid for any of the victims.

The Catholics, initially a group of 10, were kidnapped in Croix-des-Bouquets, a town six miles from Port-au-Prince April 11. One worshipper was released days later after the gang members received USD $50,000, according to local reports. The gang members set free three more worshippers a week ago without ransom.

The churchgoers included five priests, two nuns and three members of a priest’s family. One priest and one nun are of French nationality.

Also released Thursday are Youri Dérival, a psychology student, Marie Josette Malvoisin, a professor and Manuel Gaston Orival, a former police commissioner.

Orival was kidnapped on Tuesday in his home at Avenue Pouplard in Port-au-Prince. News of his release brought much relief and joy to his neighborhood.

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Bribery case was destined to fail – DPP Graham

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Valston Graham has thrown out the case of Bribery and treating against government Minister Eugene Hamilton, brought by his political opponent Dr Terrance Drew, noting there was no realistic prospect for success.

Graham said the evidence in support of the complaints, was disclosed to him by Counsel for Dr. Drew, and on receipt of the evidence, he sought opinions from two independent, senior criminal experts. 

“One of those experts comes from within the Federation and the other from outside of the Federation. In written opinions provided to me, both independent criminal experts concluded that neither the charge of Bribery nor that of Treating had any realistic prospect of success. 

“They further concluded that the prosecution instituted by Dr. Drew amounted to an abuse on the process of the court.”

The DPP said he sought the opinions of independent Counsel, although not required by law to do so.

“My decision to do so, was made in my own deliberate judgment in the interest of fairness and transparency, and Dr. Drew’s own Counsel instructed a written “respectful request” for me to engage independent counsel to conduct the matter on behalf of my office. Having received the opinions, I undertook my own examination of the evidence, considered the opinions, the law, and the Prosecution Policy to prosecute.”

Read more in this weeks Observer Newspaper

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