WA reaches unwanted Covid record

WA recorded 10,394 new infections overnight, but no deaths, taking the total number of active cases to 58,640.There are now 279 patients in hospital, including six in intensive care.Modelling had predicted WA would reach its Omicron peak at 10,000 new infections per day, but when that did not happen the state government eased restrictions, including scrapping venue capacity limits and the use of masks in most places.WA now has a third dose vaccination rate of 80.3 per cent among people aged 16 and over.Premier Mark McGowan has repeatedly attributed WA’s success at navigating the pandemic on the high vaccination rate and the hard border.During weekends, WA usually sees a dip in the number of new cases but the figures were 8747 on Sunday and 9243 on Saturday.The Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith told reporters last week that if hospitalisation numbers reached between 300 and 350, it would cause a significant strain on the medical system.“We would need to be very, very quickly looking at reintroducing restrictions,” he said.Dr Duncan-Smith also urged people to continue wearing masks indoors even though it was not mandated in most settings anymore.Mr McGowan has also said people should wear a mask if they wished to do so and especially if they could not socially distance.