South West quiet for first weekend of school holidays as would-be travellers stay home amid restrictions

The South West region was uncharacteristically quiet at the weekend for the start of the school holiday break as would-be travellers elected to stay away amid lingering mask restrictions. Tourism hotspots such as Bunbury, Margaret River, Dunsborough and Busselton — which would normally be bustling on the first weekend of holidays — were almost deserted, as mask laws and inclement weather combined to keep travellers away. The Perth and Peel regions exited their four-day circuit-breaker lockdown at midnight on Friday and while travel between regions is now open, but metro residents travelling to the South West were required to wear masks inside and outside and avoid all hospitality, recreation and entertainment venues until midnight last night. South West police Superintendent Geoff Stewart said the restrictions meant traffic volume heading south was significantly lower than normal across the weekend and his crews had to do no “heavy-handed policing”. “The traffic volume wasn’t anywhere near what it might have been in terms of school holiday commencing and things like that,” he said. “Overall, people have been pretty good, they have been complying with it and anyone who we thought weren’t doing it and we spoke to, were all OK with it in the end as well. “We are not surprised, because each time there has been a lockdown the community has responded really, really well and that has been the case again. “We haven’t had the need to carry out any enforcement at all.” Supt. Stewart also said people in the South West who had been in the Peel or Perth regions and were wearing masks had also adhered to restrictions by ordering takeaway food and drinks. “When I was out and about the people wearing masks and they weren’t sitting in restaurants or cafes,” he said. “I even look to see whether people are doing the (SafeWA) QR code and there was good uptake of that on the weekend as well. “People just want to burn this out so we can go back to normality and that’s indicative in us not having to do any heavy handed police — it’s been good.” Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Kristy Gillian said she was hopeful restrictions easing would mean people make the most of the South West during the second week of school holidays. “I would say, optimistically, that people who had plans waylaid won’t be prevented from coming down altogether,” she said. “This time of year is generally an incredibly popular time for visitors and tourists to the region.” Premier Mark McGowan confirmed at his press conference yesterday that the the metro area would today continue its transition out of lockdown with a further easing of restrictions. No new cases of community-transmitted COVID-19 were recorded yesterday, which means masks will now only be required indoors and on public transport and a 30-person limit is now in place for indoor private gatherings and a 150-person limit for outdoor gatherings. People in the South West who have been in the Perth or Peel regions since June 27 are also subject to these transitional restrictions.