When Mark McGowan stood up on Thursday evening to announce that Western Australia would continue to be sealed off from a Covid-infected outside world, the reaction was swift. But it was by no means one-way traffic.
Opinions on the dramatic backflip – cancelling the state’s planned 5 February reopening – were split down familiar faultlines, with business advocates and the Tourism Council crying out in financial pain while health workers breathed a sigh of relief.
