An announcement on Western Australia's border reopening will be made sometime this month, Premier Mark McGowan has confirmed.
He made the comment while revealing WA had recorded 48 new local cases of COVID-19.
Speaking ahead of state parliament resuming on Tuesday, Mr McGowan said the state was on the right track to further ease border restrictions.
"I can't give you an exact answer [when], but clearly with our vaccination rates growing very significantly and the eastern states coming off the peak and children's vaccination rates growing, and as case numbers climb here, we'll reach an outcome at some time and we'll make that announcement during this month," he said.
But he did not provide any further insight on when the border might ease or when exactly the announcement would be made.
"You can't pre-empt the review, it would be inappropriate and improper to do that," he said.
WA's hard border had been due to fall on February 5, but the Premier announced on January 20 the state would remain closed because not enough people had been triple vaccinated in the face of the looming threat from Omicron.
Mr McGowan said another 14 returned interstate and overseas travellers had also tested positive to COVID-19, bringing the total number of new infections in WA to 62.
Out of the positive test results, 55 came from PCR tests, with the remaining seven from rapid antigen tests.
It brings the state's total number of active cases to 471.
Testing numbers almost double
The number of PCR swabs taken on Monday was significantly up on previous days, with 8,051 tests performed.
That is almost double the 4,351 tests carried out on Sunday.
Three aged care facilities are continuing to deal with outbreaks, with 30 schools also reporting confirmed cases.
Mr McGowan said the testing numbers confirmed the decision to delay WA's reopening was the right one.
He said case numbers continued to be low compared to what they would have been if the border had been opened, and that thousands of people had still been able to travel to WA over the last two weeks.
"Those 25,000 people have reunited with families and caught up with friends and what have you, so that's been a good outcome in a safe way," he said.
The Premier again pointed to WA's growing booster dose rate, which currently sits around 51.5 per cent, as key to the reopening.
"By the time we reopen the interstate and international borders, we'll be one of the highest vaccinated places in the world with one of the safest populations in the world, which is a great thing," he said.
Bid to limit aged care workers moving
The Premier said with three aged care homes having reported outbreaks, the government was trying to limit staff movements.
"It's far better if people don't move between facilities," he said.
"But at the same time, getting aged care workforces and the aged care residents more heavily vaccinated is incredibly important."
All aged care staff are required to either be double-dose vaccinated or have an exemption.
State government rules also mean staff must receive their booster within a month of becoming eligible.
Figures obtained from the Commonwealth Health Department on Friday showed 80.5 per cent of eligible aged care residents in the state had received a booster.
WA's aged care population is the least vaccinated in the country.
Unvaccinated MPs could be suspended
The government is expected to put forward a motion in the Upper House this afternoon to immediately suspend any MPs who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
The motion is also expected to require that members be triple-dosed if eligible.
Liberal MP Nick Goiran has regularly refused to reveal whether or not he is vaccinated, as has Legalise Cannabis Party MP Sophia Moermond.
"I'd urge the Liberal Party to do the right thing here," Mr McGowan said.
"This is not a time for people to try and make political points."
Mr Goiran again on Tuesday refused to reveal whether he was vaccinated.
"I have specifically said repeatedly that I won’t be providing my status unless under compulsion of law. I have every confidence that I have complied with the laws of our state," he said.
"I've got nothing further to say about the matter, I cannot be clearer. People in Western Australia are entitled to medical privacy."
Opposition Leader Mia Davies said she was "very confident" all members of the Liberal-National alliance were following the vaccination rules.
"As members of parliament we shouldn't be above the rules that we are setting for the broader community, it's important that everybody goes out and gets vaccinated," she said.
'Groundhog day', Opposition says
Ms Davies said the Opposition would use parliament to seek some clarity from the government around COVID-19 in WA, saying the public had not received it in recent months.
"We're looking forward to asking some of the questions that many West Australians have been asking over the summer period since the Premier broke the promise of reopening on the fifth of February," she said.
She said the messaging from the state government in the aftermath had led to "chaos and confusion" and West Australians had been offered "no light at the end of the tunnel".
"It does feel like groundhog day, that we're going to walk back into that chamber and start asking all of the same questions two years on," she said.
"The Premier needs to be up-front with the people of Western Australia and to the parliament as to how we are going to manage living with Omicron in the community. That work should have been done over last six months, or two years in fact."
Ms Davies said with the government yet to set a new date, important public trust had been eroded.
Mr McGowan flagged his speech in parliament outlining that his government's agenda would include reforms to firearms legislation.
He said it would be about making sure that "people like bikies" do not have access to guns.
The Premier said there would also be reforms to the bail act, aimed at protecting children, and reforms to land administration.
"So that we can promote the production of green hydrogen in Western Australia, [to] make sure we use our pastoral lands for those purposes," he said.
The Premier also said there would be measures to promote further efficiencies in local government.
