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Concern over Perth nightclub cluster

Phoebe LoomesAAP
Mark McGowan says isolation requirements will change only when a higher load of cases is reached.
Camera IconMark McGowan says isolation requirements will change only when a higher load of cases is reached. Credit: AAP

A spike in COVID-19 cases in Western Australia has been linked to a nightclub event in Perth, leading health authorities to issue a warning.

WA reported 23 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, 14 of which were linked to the Club Bootylicious event at the Library Nightclub last weekend.

Six of the infections linked to the club are secondary cases and eight are primary infections.

Anyone who was at the club in Northbridge between 9.30pm and 5am on January 22 is urged to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.

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WA Health says one of Saturday's cases is linked to a Bunbury cluster, and six cases are household contacts from previously detected clusters in the South West, Safety Bay, Rockingham, Willagee and Wheatbelt areas.

One case remains under investigation.

One of the cases was an interstate traveller who is in hotel quarantine.

Anyone with symptoms in the South West is also urged to get a test after a confirmed COVID-19 case was found in the Bunbury and Collie area.

Similar advice extends to the Wheatbelt after a confirmed case was found in the region. WA Health said the person, linked to a known cluster, had not been infectious in the community.

WA reported 22 local cases of COVID-19 and one case linked to interstate travel up to 8pm on Friday.

There is one person in the state currently hospitalised in ICU with COVID-19.

The number of cases was up from Friday, when the state reported just nine new cases.

On Friday WA Premier Mark McGowan said the state would change isolation requirements for people with COVID-19 and close contacts, but only when the state reached a higher load of cases.

That tipping point of cases in the community is yet to be determined.

The announcement means WA will retain its hard border for an unknown period.

The premier said the threshold would account for the average case numbers and whether people had been in the community while infectious.

"Hopefully it is weeks away while we improve our third dose vaccination rates, depending on how our current outbreak plays out," he said.

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