Masks come off in the South West as final restrictions end in Perth and Peel regions

Travellers to the South West are no longer required to wear a mask, after the Perth and Peel regions returned to pre-lockdown conditions yesterday. The final restrictions in place after the recent snap lockdown ended at midnight on Sunday, meaning WA is now completely free of restrictions for the first time since June 27. Until yesterday, anyone travelling from the Perth or Peel region was required to wear face masks indoors, and outdoors where it was not possible to socially distance — adhering to the same restrictions as people in the metro area. Premier Mark McGowan took to social media to celebrate the end of restrictions, posting a video to TikTok of him taking off his mask. New South Wales recorded 112 new local COVID-19 cases on Monday morning, marking the worst day of the Greater Sydney outbreak to date. NSW has now recorded almost 680 COVID-19 cases in the community since June 16, when the Bondi cluster first emerged. Some 18 COVID-19 patients in NSW are in intensive care, with four ventilated. Meanwhile, a pharmacy in Waroona is among the first regional chemists to be able to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine. It comes after National Cabinet talks in April allowed States and Territories to include community pharmacies in the next phase of their vaccine rollouts. More than 50 community pharmacies got the go-ahead this week, with Waroona’s Terry White Chemist issuing the vaccines from yesterday. Pharmacy Guild of Australia WA branch director Matthew Tweedie said the step was well overdue, but still left more than 400 pharmacies deemed eligible to take part unable to provide a single dose of vaccine.