Western Australia Did Not Do Enough to Prevent Hotel Quarantine Outbreak: AMA

WA Premier Mark McGowan prepares to speak to media at Dumas House in Perth, Australia on Apr. 23, 2021. WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced a snap three-day lockdown for the Perth and Peel regions of Western Australia. Photo by Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President Dr. Omar Khorshid has said that the Western Australian (WA) government could have done more to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent 3-day lockdown.

A report came in early April identifying the Mercure hotel as “high-risk” for ventilation issues, one of three in Perth. According to Khorshid, the problem lay in a lack of expediency in delivering the report following WA’s last lockdown in February.