Western Australia has officially ended its COVID-19 state of emergency, lifting a raft of restrictions including for residential aged care.

As of 4 November, the state has shifted to managing COVID-19 through “sustainable public health measures, vaccination and targeted testing processes”; the move came about as a result of a number of factors including high vaccination rates, antiviral access, immunity from previous infections, and high levels of understanding about managing risk of transmission.

This decision effectively revokes all COVID-19 directions made under the Emergency Management Act and the Public Health Act, said WA Health.

“These include proof of vaccination, mandatory vaccination, face mask use in high-risk settings, and visitors to residential aged care facilities (including requirement for influenza vaccination).

“The System Alert and Response (SAR) Blue framework in public hospitals and healthcare services will be stood down and replaced by policies and guidelines on infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities, which have been developed to manage the transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.”

NSW and Victoria ended COVID-19 restrictions for aged care in July, while mandatory isolation periods were dropped nationwide last month.