There have been 62 new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 recorded in Western Australia, the highest daily number yet.
Another 13 cases linked to interstate travel have also been reported, bringing the total number of new infections in the state to 75.
One of the new local cases is not yet linked to any previous cases and is under investigation.
The previous high number of new local cases in a single day came last Friday, when 51 infections were reported.
The South West region has recorded one new case, a person who was infectious in the community.
The WA Education Department confirmed there had been a case of COVID-19 at a primary school in the region.
Parents at Allanson Primary School near Collie, 200 kilometres south of Perth, were told on the weekend that there had been a case at the school.
There are now 509 active cases in WA, but none are in hospital.
WA Health said there were "low" testing figures yesterday, with just 4,351 people being swabbed with PCR tests.
Of the new cases recorded today, 10 were self-reported rapid antigen tests (RATs).
There are now three aged care facilities with identified cases in WA, including The Cove run by provider Brightwater in Mandurah, south of Perth.
More cases expected at aged care home
Brightwater said it was awaiting PCR test results of all residents at The Cove facility to determine if COVID-19 had spread within its site.
Brightwater CEO Jennifer Lawrence said there were other residents with symptoms.
"I'm expecting additional cases. I'm hoping not, but I'm expecting additional cases. This is a very contagious virus," she told ABC Radio Perth.
She said the site was locked down and all staff were undergoing RATs before they came to work.
"We've had no positive staff to date. We've been preparing for this for a long while and we've learnt a lot from what's happened on the east coast, so we are as prepared as we'll ever be for an outbreak," she said.
Ms Lawrence said they still did not know how coronavirus got into the facility, and both infected residents are recovering.
"One is not very sick at all, one has a cough and a slight temperature," she said.
"Both are fully vaccinated, including a booster. At the Cove there's 131 residents, all of them are vaccinated bar 11, and those 11 are just waiting for their booster because they're not due yet." she said.
She said residents would be kept in their rooms as a precaution until test results came back today.
The Cove outbreak comes after the Juniper Residential Aged Care facility in Bentley detected cases in a resident and a staff member on Wednesday.
Yesterday a case was also confirmed at a third aged care centre, Coolibah Care, which is also in Mandurah.
Warning against cutting residents off from society
An advocacy group for older West Australians, Advocare, has raised concerns about some aged care facilities going too far in limiting access to their sites.
"Just this week we've heard of facilities that have closed access, and they haven't got any COVID outbreaks currently," Advocare CEO Louise Forster said.
"It's a concern because it's really important for older people to have access to social connection, we know loneliness and isolation is almost as bad as smoking.
"It's important to protect older people from respiratory infections, COVID-19 being one of them, but it's equally important for them not to be cut off from people for extended periods without that being constantly assessed."
Ms Forster said interstate staffing shortages due to COVID-19 impacted 25 to 40 per cent of the workforce in aged care.
She said Advocare was helping to explore alternative ways to take pressure off the industry including greater roles for volunteers and family or friends to do more, particularly with basic levels of support.
"A residential aged care facility is somebody's home at the end of the day, it might be where some people go to work, but it is where a number of people live," she said.
"And they have a right to live in a house and have people come and visit them, have access to other people in their lives, and have rights to entry and access themselves."
Australian Defence Force personnel are also on stand-by to help in aged care facilities if workforce shortages reach critical levels.
Opposition renews call for WA to reopen
The leader of WA's Liberal Party, David Honey, said the low testing rates in WA were concerning and WA Premier Mark McGowan was to blame.
"It is fair to say, the Premier has lost the trust of the people of Western Australia when he broke his contract with them on the 5th of February in terms of opening up the state," he said.
"Western Australians went out they go their first jab, they got their second jab, they're overwhelmingly getting their booster jab, they've isolated, they've done all the things the Premier has required.
Mr Honey also renewed his call for the government to open the borders by March 5 when it is believed the state might reach an 80 per cent triple vaccination rate.
