Lockdown to lift, masks to remain

Premier Mark McGowan has announced that the lockdown will be lifted from midnight tonight, despite one new local case having been recorded overnight.

During a press conference this afternoon, Mr McGowan said the new case was the 21-year-old partner of case 1024, a man in his 30s who contracted the virus while dining at the Indian Ocean Brewing Company in Mindarie.

The woman had been in isolation with her partner since Sunday, having twice tested negative before returning a positive test result overnight.

The state government has announced a staged easing of restrictions in which masks will remain mandatory and a 10-person limit will be in place for private indoor gatherings until Tuesday, July 6.

A four-square metre rule and a 20-person capacity limit will also be enforced at beauty salons, gyms, restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, casinos, nightclubs, entertainment venues and public venues - for seated food and drink service only.

Those that can work from home are being encouraged to do so.

Those in the Perth and Peel regions will be permitted to venture outside the regional boundary, but will be required to wear a mask and get takeaway only.

Those restrictions are expected to be eased again, with a view to returning to the pre-lockdown restrictions by Monday, July 12.

Health authorities have now identified 383 close contacts of the northern suburbs community cluster, 356 of whom have returned negative test results.

A further 2,848 casual contacts have also been identified, 1,725 of whom have tested negative.

The transitional restrictions are designed to take the state through the full 14-day incubation period.

The Perth and Peel regions entered a four-day circuit-breaker lockdown on Monday evening after the state recorded its second case of community transmission.

On Sunday, the state government enforced restrictions after confirmation a woman in her 50s had acquired the virus on a trip to Bondi - the epicentre of Sydney’s most recent outbreak.

The following day, it was confirmed that two members of the public had contracted the virus, a woman who visited Mobius Health and Performance Gym in Joondalup and a man who had dined at the Indian Ocean Brewing Co in Mindarie at the same time as the returned traveller.

The news coincided with revelations that genomic sequencing had confirmed the traveller had the Delta variant of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, a 37-year-old man tested positive for the virus after attending the Mobius Health and Performance Gym in Joondalup during the same period as the returned traveller from Sydney and the first case of community transmission.

Health Minister Roger Cook said the outbreak was believed to be confined to the northern suburbs, with wastewater testing confirming the virus had been detected in Alkimos, in close proximity to the homes of the two positive cases in Mindarie.

More to come.