02 February 2021

COVID-19 update 2 February 2021

The Department of Health has reported no new cases of COVID-19 linked to case #903 overnight.

 Whole genome sequencing has identified two potential matches from the hotel and investigations continue to determine which of these was the source of infection.  

So far 226 close and casual contacts related to the security guard case have been tested with 106 returning negative results.

Contact tracers continue to follow up contacts from the most recently added location – Genesis Gym at Belmont. Around 30 people have been identified and have been directed to isolate at home and get tested.

The list of locations that the confirmed case (external site) visited is available on the Healthy WA website.

If you have been at any of these locations at the times specified, you need to attend a COVID clinic (external site) for testing and isolate at home until you receive a negative result. In addition, continue to monitor for symptoms for 14 days and if you experience any symptoms at any time – fever, coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, loss of smell or taste – go to a COVID clinic to be retested. 

WA Health is reporting one historic case today – a man who recently attended Fiona Stanley Hospital and returned a weak positive PCR test.

Subsequent test results confirmed he was PCR negative, but serology positive, confirming that the case was historic and non-infectious in WA. It is believed the man was infectious in Mexico in December last year.

The case is counted in WA as it has not been recorded elsewhere. The State’s total number of cases is now 904. 

WA Health is monitoring nine active cases of COVID-19 and 886 people have recovered from the virus in WA.

There have been 738,946 COVID-19 tests performed in WA. Of those tested, 114,329 were from regional WA.

Yesterday 4,987 people presented to public COVID clinics in WA – 4,012 were assessed and 4,002 swabbed.

To date 17 cases of variant strains have been detected (13 B.1.1.7 strain and 4 B.1.351 strain). Three of these cases remain active in hotel quarantine.

Visit WA Health’s HealthyWA website for the latest information on COVID-19. 

Media contact: 9222 4333
Follow us on Twitter: @WAHealth

 

Note: The cases of variant strains reported above are not new cases. Genome sequencing – to define the strain of the virus – is a separate laboratory process carried out after someone who tests positive to COVID-19. All cases, regardless of strain, are managed by WA’s public health experts. The strains previously reported as the UK variant strain and South African variant strain will now be referred to as B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 respectively.