Western Australia Starts to Dismantle Virus Border Restrictions

(Bloomberg) --

Western Australia state, which has been cut off from the rest of the nation since March in a bid to control the coronavirus pandemic, has announced it intends to start removing its hard border next month.

From Nov. 14, the state will allow travelers from Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory to enter without quarantining. People arriving from New South Wales and Victoria states, along with all international arrivals, will still need to quarantine for 14 days.

The announcement will please Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He’s been pushing the eight states and territories to remove border closures as quickly as possible to reboot the economy, which has slipped into recession due to the impact of lockdown restrictions.

A resurgence of the pandemic in Victoria’s Melbourne, the nation’s second-largest city, is now under control, leading to the end of its three-month lockdown this week. Of Australia’s some 27,500 cases recorded since the pandemic began, an estimated 200 cases remain active as of Thursday.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.