Western Australia has announced 25 new local cases of COVID-19 on the day the state planned to remove its hard border.
All but four of those cases have been linked to current outbreaks, while the sources of the other infections are still under investigation.
New COVID-19 rules came into effect on Saturday, allowing more people to enter the state on compassionate grounds.
About 6,000 travellers are expected to arrive in WA from Saturday, with the vast majority arriving from interstate.
They will have to spend two weeks in home quarantine.
WA Police said almost 25,000 G2G applications had been approved as of 8am on Friday for arrivals on or after February 5.
The figure accounts for about 60 per cent of the total number of applications for travellers hoping to cross through WA's new hard border, with the remaining applications rejected or still pending.
But many families do not qualify and remain separated from loved ones interstate and overseas.
Dozens of people attended a rally on a Perth beach in support of a group called Parents are Immediate Family.
Border rules 'utterly heartless and cruel': MP
Local MP David Honey spoke in support of the protesters.
"These people are among the 30 per cent of West Australians who come from overseas and effectively they haven't been able to see their families for over two years," he said.
"Here we are on this momentous day, the 5th of February … the day that [Premier] Mark McGowan promised the people of WA he was going to open the borders, that the state was ready, the hospitals were ready."
Dr Honey said protesters told him stories about parents overseas who sold their houses and had visas to travel to Australia approved before having the rug pulled out from under them.
"What the Premier is doing, I think, is utterly heartless and cruel," he said.
Michelle Striepe has been an Australian temporary resident for 15 years.
She said her mother died overseas in 2020 and she had not been able to return home since.
Her father has an airline ticket for March 31 and, although she is hoping for the best, she is concerned he will not be allowed into WA.
"I realise we want to keep people safe, but I think it's about recognising the mental health and the wellbeing of people who need to see their families, who need to be reconnected … and need to hug their loved ones," she said.
Ms Striepe said she believed the tools available to health authorities at this stage of the pandemic were enough to mitigate the spread of the virus.
'It would have been irresponsible': McGowan
But Mr McGowan said opening WA's border on Saturday would have been the wrong decision.
"It would have been irresponsible to proceed with our original plan, which was developed for the Delta variant rather than the faster-spreading Omicron variant," he said.
"With our new plan, from today thousands of Western Australians will safely reunite with loved ones."
Mr McGowan said 97.8 per cent of West Australians aged 12 and over had received their first COVID vaccination.
The figure for those who have received two vaccinations has risen to 92.8 per cent, while about 42 per cent of the state's population aged 16 and over have received their booster shot.
Supplies roll into Perth to ease grocery shortage
The rail line connecting Western Australia to South Australia is still out of action after heavy rain in that state.
That, combined with COVID-related supply chain problems, has seen many supermarket shelves in WA stripped of supplies.
But the first delivery of containers of groceries via a new "land-bridge" arrived in Perth on Saturday.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said it involved both road and rail systems.
"It's a combination of rail from the east coast, then it is trucks from Adelaide into Kalgoorlie, and then it's back onto rail [into Perth]," she said.
Ms Saffioti said 24 containers of groceries could be expected to arrive in Perth each day next week.
She said the shortage was also being alleviated by allowing longer road trains into WA.
Mr McGowan said despite some shortages, it was important to remember that most fresh fruit, vegetables and meat consumed in WA was also produced in the state so supplies were plentiful.
Test isolation payment available
Meanwhile, Mr McGowan has announced West Australians can now apply for a $320 test isolation payment if they lose, or have lost, income while isolating and awaiting the results of a COVID-19 PCR test.
The Premier said the payment would also be available to parents, guardians and carers who had lost income because someone they cared for had been directed to isolate while waiting for test result.
Payment eligibility will be backdated to December 23, 2021.
