Western Australia halfway through snap COVID-19 lockdown with no new cases

People pay their respects after the Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne as the state government limits numbers of people able to attend (William WEST / AFP)

Western Australia reported no new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Sunday with more than 2 million people in the state halfway through a snap three-day lockdown.

The lockdown was ordered after a traveller likely became infected while in quarantine in a hotel and unknowingly passed it on to two other people in the community, according to authorities.

Testing of hundreds of people was still underway and state premier Premier Mark McGowan said it was too early to predict what the government would decide on Tuesday when the lockdown was due to end.

While the rest of the country gathered in crowds to honour military personnel on Anzac Day, Western Australians commemorated at home.

Television footage showed residents lighting candles on their driveways and on their balconies at dawn services.

"Western Australians will always commemorate Anzac Day and pay our respects," McGowan said. "No matter what happens the Anzac spirit will live on." 

More from International News

  • US, Iran and mediators make push for 45-day ceasefire

    The US, Iran, and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, Axios reported on Sunday, citing four US, Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks.

  • US snatches airman from Iran as Trump, Israel ratchet up pressure

    US special forces rescued a downed airman in Iran in a complex operation that averted a potential crisis for President Donald Trump, as the war entered its sixth week with little sign of progress in diplomatic efforts for a resolution.

  • Ships near Italy rescue 32 migrants as 71 remain missing

    Two merchant vessels near the Italian coast recovered the bodies of two migrants and rescued 32 survivors from a boat trying to cross to Europe from Libya on Easter weekend, rescue charities said, citing the survivors as saying 71 others were lost at sea.

  • Nigerian army rescues 31 hostages after church attack

    Nigeria's army said on Sunday that it had rescued 31 civilians who were taken hostage during an attack on a church in northwest Kaduna state, while five people were found dead at the scene.

  • At least 11 killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon

    An Israeli airstrike on Kfarhata, a village in south Lebanon, killed seven people on Sunday, including a 4-year-old child, while another attack on the Jnah neighbourhood in Beirut killed four people and injured 39 others, Lebanon's health ministry said in a statement.

On Virgin Radio today

Trending on Virgin Radio