The Western Australian government has announced a snap three-day lockdown for Perth and the Peel region, following a community case of COVID-19.

A man returned a positive COVID test in Melbourne after spending five days out in Perth at the end of his hotel quarantine period. It’s understood the man arrived in Australia from Shanghai.

WA Premier Mark McGowan announced at a press conference that the lockdown for the Perth and Peel regions will come into effect from midnight tonight, with people in these areas unable to leave unless they have an exemption.

“There will be four reasons to leave your house. These are: Work if you can’t work from home or remotely, shopping for essentials like groceries, medicine and necessary supplies, medical or healthcare needs, including compassionate requirements and looking after the vulnerable, and exercise with a maximum of four people, limited to one hour per day,” he said.

“Masks must be worn unless it is rigorous exercise.”

Premier McGowan said pubs, bars and clubs will have to close during the 72-hour lockdown, but takeaway venues will remain open.

Gyms and indoor sporting venues will also be forced to close, with no community sport permitted.

Playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor recreational facilities, and cinemas, entertainment venues and casinos will also be closed.

Premier McGowan said the Anzac Dawn Services in Perth and the Peel region would be cancelled this year, and that he has requested for international arrivals to be halved to 512 a week for the next month.

More to come.

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