This was published 6 years ago
If you suspect you or a family member has coronavirus you should call (not visit) your GP or ring the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
That is it for us. Thank you for reading throughout the day
Live coverage will resume bright and early tomorrow morning.
If you have any tips or comments, please email news@watoday.com.au.
Good night and stay healthy.
Passengers and crew stuck aboard the cruise ship Artania have left a friendly message for the port city that has granted them a life-line to get home to their loved ones in Europe.
On Saturday afternoon banners and signs started appearing on the ship thanking Fremantle after the Australian government came to an agreement with German authorities to allow the ship's healthy passengers out of the country on four mercy flights scheduled to leave Perth for Frankfurt tomorrow.
Twelve passengers on the ship have, or are suspected of having, COVID-19 and are being treated in Perth hospitals - three are in a critical condition.
A further 46 still on board the ship have started to display coronavirus-like symptoms, presenting a logistical nightmare for the WA government, who may be forced to treat the sick in Perth hospitals, or bring them ashore for a 14-day quarantine period.
The remaining 800-odd healthy passengers, mostly German nationals, have not been allowed to step foot in Western Australia as they wait to be transferred on busses directly to the airport.
Australian Medical Association WA president Andrew Miller has described a decision by the state and federal governments to use two private Perth hospitals for any COVID-19 patients from the Artania cruise ship as 'planning on the run' and would hurt the health system in the long run.
Earlier today WA Premier Mark McGowan said 46 passengers and crew aboard the Artania, which is currently docked in Fremantle, had come down with coronavirus symptoms.
He said any patients with the virus would be sent to Bethesda and Hollywood private hospitals in secured wings to free up the public system for West Australians.
Mr McGowan described the decision as a good solution to a 'complex' problem.
From Monday WA TAFEs will stop in-person classes as they start using a blend of online and face-to-face teaching to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Colleges will pause in-person classes from Monday but training in essential services such as nursing and aged care would continue.
Assessment for students and final stage apprentices in hospitality courses will also be modified to ensure they are done safely.
Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery said the new delivery model would be flexible, nimble and adaptable in training people for jobs needed during the pandemic and for those jobs that will have a massive role in the recovery process.
WA Premier Mark McGowan has vented his frustration at the term ‘lockdown’ at this afternoon’s press conference.
After a week of escalating social distancing and isolation measures that saw WA’s regional borders shut there was a reprieve on Saturday with no new directives ordered.
As cases ramp up federal and state government are considering the third stage of shutdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19 but it is unclear what that will look like.
When asked about whether the state was headed for a ‘lockdown’ Mr McGowan said he ‘didn’t like the term’.
Of the six COVID-19 patients in ICU beds at WA’s hospitals, three are from the cruise ship Artania, the WA government has revealed.
Health Minister Roger Cook confirmed today the two passengers taken to ICUs at Fiona Stanley and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals on Thursday for "non-coronavirus related medical emergencies" had now tested positive for the disease.
WAtoday and Nine News Perth understand one man suffered a heart attack, while the other suffered kidney failure.
Mr Cook said a third Artania passenger also in ICU was awaiting test results but it was likely they also had the disease.
“We all know the score, it is highly likely that will be a positive,” he said.
There are now 12 Artania passengers in WA hospitals.
Famed WA Swedish cafe chain Miss Mauds has temporarily shuttered its 21 stores and 24-hour bakehouse and stood down staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The move is another blow to the food and hospitality sector which had been hardest hit since social distancing restrictions began escalating mid-March.
About 412 casual staff will be impacted with a further 78 permanent staff also stood down.
Hundreds of suppliers will also be affected.
It would usually be bustling with punters getting a Saturday afternoon frothy, but the iconic watering hole for generations of Fremantle Folk, The Left Bank, sat empty on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon.
Send your pictures of West Australians doing social distancing correctly, or incorrectly, to news@watoday.com.au.
Two private Perth hospitals will be called on to deal with any COVID-19 patients from the Artania cruise ship docked at Fremantle.
The welfare of Artania passengers was shaping up as a huge headache for the state government who consistently said it wanted the ship to leave Perth to ensure hospital beds remained empty for WA citizens.
WA Premier Mark McGowan confirmed 46 passengers on the mostly German national ship were displaying COVID-19 symptoms.
He said after crisis talks with the Commonwealth overnight they had agreed to set up wings in Hollywood and Bethesda hospitals at the Commonwealth’s cost that would receive any sick patients.
Five thousand retail staff are set to be stood down after David Jones announced it would shut 280 of its fashion brand stores including Country Road, Witchery, Trenery, Mimco and Politix.
The Country Road group of stores will close from this afternoon for at least a month.
David Jones said on Saturday that two of its smaller format stores at Barangaroo in Sydney and James Street in Brisbane will close because the company cannot ensure social distancing requirements can be met.
The staff in those stores will be redeployed to other stores in Sydney and Brisbane. Large-format David Jones stores across the country are set to remain open.
On Friday night, Myer announced its intention to close all of its stores on Sunday and to stand down 10,000 retail staff, as well as a number of personnel at its head office in Melbourne.