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WA Premier Mark McGowan in COVID-19 isolation

Mark McGowan has stood down as Western Australian premier.

Mark McGowan has stood down as Western Australian premier. Photo: AAP

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has revealed he is isolating at home after a family member tested positive to COVID-19.

The premier has been deemed a close contact and will quarantine with his family for seven days.

In a statement, Mr McGowan said he had attended his local hospital in the Perth suburb of Rockingham to undergo a PCR test after the family member tested positive.

The result came back negative on Wednesday.

“I will continue to follow the health guidelines as so many Western Australians have done during this pandemic,” he said.

“I’ll be working from home for the duration of my isolation period as required.”

The premier is expected to be out of isolation in time to attend federal Labor’s election campaign launch in Perth on May 1.

Mr McGowan thanked health workers for their ongoing efforts as WA navigated its Omicron wave.

“Western Australians have done such a great job of doing the right thing and following the health advice to keep the spread of the virus to a minimum and reach the soft landing we all sought out to achieve,” he said.

WA last week moved to the national definition for close contacts, requiring only household members and intimate partners to isolate.

But strict proof of vaccination and mask-wearing requirements remain in place.

The state recorded 8080 cases on Wednesday, while the number of people in hospital fell to 244 including 10 in intensive care.

With NSW and Victoria set to scrap quarantine for close contacts from Friday, Deputy Premier Roger Cook said WA would not rush to follow them.

“I think people should anticipate over the next weeks and months we’ll continue to see winding back of restrictions,” he told reporters.

“But we won’t be hasty about this. We won’t simply be putting things in place that will unnecessarily threaten the safety of Western Australians.

“We’ll take careful advice from the chief health officer and make the appropriate calls at the appropriate time.”

– AAP

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